The End is Nigh
by M. J. Gilliland
Summary: 7 strangers hide out together in an animal clinic and prepare to flee Paris, France. The city has been overrun with the infected victims of the second Rage Virus outbreak in Britain, and an unexpected twist changes how these survivors view the infection.
1. Chapter 01: The Metro

The End Is Nigh

28 Hours Later…

The Metro.

Paris, France was peaceful. A day just like any other day where the general populace was unaware of just how well they had it. People went to and from work, they went to lunch, children went to school. The people were healthy. There was no virus infecting everyone, neighbors wouldn't have to kill one another just to stay alive, family wouldn't have to unwillingly attack the ones they loved most and people didn't have to hide or run.

It had been nearly 8 months since the outbreak in Britain, and because of the strict quarantine, the rest of the world was safe. Only a handful of people made it out. The ones that did were confined to strict, military controlled, refugee camps. The rest of the world didn't want to support the British for fear of the infection spreading, even though all refugees were uninfected. The British weren't allowed to start their lives over in a new country.

After Mainland Britain was declared free of infection, those who chose to return were flown in to start over and attempt to rebuild their once great country. Hardly any of the survivors that were caught in the turmoil, and were fortunate enough to make it out alive, chose to return. Britain was a nightmarish land for them that they were only too eager to escape from it. When the rest of the world was assured that there would be no second outbreak, countries were only too happy to accept English Immigration. The survivors were able to start over, their country would be rebuilt and in time all that happened only 8 months before would be nothing more than a tragic memory. The country and the world would look back on it as if it were the Black Plague. It was horrible, but in the past.

So Paris went along as the rest of the "civilized" world did, and people would mind their own business. The nights were quiet and the days were productive. Paris was a growing city, full of determination and opportunity, just as all of Britain had once been.

Where did it come from?

The news said it was only a small incident. They said a small problem arose from the Isle of Dogs, where the survivors were based, but nothing more was released. The citizens of Paris listened to the news thinking that it was nothing more than a trivial thing, just as a car bombing in the Middle East was a trivial thing. It wouldn't affect their lives. Suddenly the news reported troops making their way to Coquelles, and the American Military assisting in any way they possibly can. There were reports of military action at _le tunnel sous la Manche_, the Channel Tunnel that they recently reopened to send English refugees back to their homeland.

Alarm soon began to spread, and it hit like a great wave, catching everyone off guard. No one saw it coming, the news couldn't warn people fast enough. Soon it started all over again.

Will McKellen was a tall Scottsman in his late 20's who had seen the effects of the virus before. He never expected a second outbreak. Will's day began as it usually did. He would go to work and come home to his Aunt's flat every day, as he had for the past 5 months. His mother, being of French descent, had a sister who lived in Paris and took Will in. After going through an excruciating process, Will was one of the first of the British to succesfully be admitted into citizenship of a foriegn country. He walked to the Metro and waited for his train to come in. He only waited for a few minutes before people began chatting and murmuring to one another.

_"__La contamination n'a pas pu arriver jusqu'ici, quand même ?__"_

"_Je croyais qu'il y avait une quarantaine !"_

Will couldn't understand a word they were saying. In the 7 months he had been living in Paris, he had only learned a few words and phrases of French. Everyone around him began paying close attention to the television monitors above, and soon aerial footage of French and U.S. troops were gunning down people charging in at them. All the troops were overrun with the amount of people that swarmed in on them.

"What the hell is this?" Will whispered to himself.

Soon he, and everyone else heard their train coming down the tracks, and they were all eager to get home. Will couldn't understand what was going on, but he knew there was some sort of national emergency, and he wanted to get home to his aunt. He looked back up to the screen.

_"... __N'essayez pas de contacter votre famille ou vos amis. La procedure d'évacuation concerne tout le pays. Veuillez écouter attentivement et suivre les instructions calmement. Tous les vols ont été annulés et les aéroports suivants sont sous contrôle de l'Armée : Orly, __Roissy-Charles de Gaulle__... "_

The low roar of the train began to grow louder as it approached. The lights up ahead showed it nearing, but the rumble on the tracks would not disperse. The train wasn't slowing down. Soon Will could see the train zoom through the station at a blinding speed. The words and advertisements along the side could not be made out, but everyone could see the long red blur where the windows had once been. The train passed, and fear began to grow in everyone.

Screaming.

Will turned his head to the opposite end of the tunnel and heard people screaming. Soon everyone in the station was running in his direction. The people around him ran the same way, and Will followed along. He couldn't understand it. This couldn't be another outbreak, not here, not again, not so soon. Will barely managed to escape when the virus hit England, he was in Cambridge, at the time, riding on a scholarship for archaeology and paleontology. He was once an apprentice curator at the Sedgwick Museum, and had a future in his line of work…but all of that was now useless. With Cambridge destroyed, none of his records could be retrieved and his future as a paleontologist was out of his reach. But it was even more useless now that Will was stuck in the middle of a mob.

He saw an opening to the main station and made his way towards it, trying hard not to get run over by everyone around him.

Artu Fouchier was a balding man in his mid-forties. He had eaten a big meal earlier in the day that was loaded with cheese, and had been on the toilet ever since. Being lactose intolerant, the meal didn't agree with him, but he was having lunch with his manager and Artu wanted to make a good impression. His manager suggested the meal and paid for it, so Artu couldn't really decline. They were discussing his new promotion and how it would help further his career.

To Artu, his promotion was worth the time he'd have to spend on the toilet. He had made it to the Metro in a rush to use the restroom, before he had to go home, and had spent the better part of half an hour relieving himself. He didn't hear the broadcast over the television monitors, and had no clue about the massive evacuation. He didn't know there was a national emergency.

Artu heard commotion from outside, but tried to think nothing of it. He was indisposed for the moment. The man in the stall beside him flushed his toilet, washed his hands and opened the door to leave. Artu folded his magazine back by the spine and continued reading. He noticed how loud the commotion was when the man opened the door, but it was none of his concern.

**Bang!**

The restroom door was thrown open and the man that just left came running back in, screaming. Artu was so startled by this that he had dropped his magazine. Soon snarling and hissing followed the man's panicked screaming and panting as he ran into the corner of the restroom, closest to Artu, and was attacked. The man was breaking into sobs and pleas, and the restroom door was thrown open again to the sound of more snarls.

Artu was petrified. He tried to see what was outside of his stall by leaning over to observe the view within the crack of his door, but could barely see one of the attacker's backs. Soon Artu could hear the sound of gagging and retching, and he was terrified at what they might have been doing to the man. Then all was quiet for only a second. Artu held his breath and could hear the men outside of his stall sniffing.

The snarling and determined screaming started up again and soon Artu found that the attackers were now trying to get into his stall. He tried to hold them back by placing his feet on the door to keep them from opening it. Soon he saw hands reaching from underneath, and then a head from someone who was crawling under from his left side. He dropped his left leg and started kicking at the man coming for him, and then another man coming from underneath the right stall.

"_Ne me faites pas mal ! Arrêtez ! Laissez-moi !"_ Artu screamed at his attackers. Soon three more attackers came crawling over the stall to get to him, and he was defenseless. There was nowhere to go and no way to fight them off. Then Artu looked into the eyes of one of his attackers. It was blood red. He looked and saw that they all had similar eyes. Blood was drenched all over their shirts, running from their mouths and down their neck.

"_Au secours ! Pitié !"_

Will made his way to the main area of the Metro and was shocked to see how many people were in a mass panic. He remembered back more than half a year before, when it was the same for him to get a plane out of England, and now it's happening all over again.

_But this couldn't be the same thing, could it? The virus couldn't have made it this far. England was clear of infection. This isn't possible._

Almost to answer Will's thoughts, a woman ahead of him, by ten meters or so began vomiting blood. Will looked around and saw the same thing being repeated amongst the mass hysteria. People began fighting and beating each other down. Rage seemed to take a hold over half the people in the station, while the other half was running and trying to get away.

The woman looked directly at Will, and he saw the red in her eyes.

_The virus had made it here._

She snarled and began running after Will and he turned around and ran as hard as he could to get away. He knew how fast it would spread, and he knew he'd have no chance of surviving a second time if he didn't move as fast as he could. As Will ran he bumped into people running in his way. He didn't hesitate to push them aside as he tried to make his way out. People fell down as he plunged through the crowd. He looked back and saw that the most recent people he knocked over were being pounced on by the Infected.

Will tried not to knock anyone else down as he made his way through the mob. The direction the mob led him towards was into another tunnel. People were running as fast as they could, desperately trying to get out of the station. Will ran along with the rest of them and soon another out-of-control train blew through.

Somewhere as he ran, Will lost his footing and fell on top of a woman who was in front of him. She pulled down another man that she was running beside, and soon Will found himself amongst dozens of dead or unconscious people who were being trampled by the rushing mob. Will tried to crawl, but every footstep on his back pressed him deeper into the dead. He struggled to get up, but soon found that to be useless. He knew that getting up wasn't an option, at that moment, so he tried to make his way towards the sidewall of the tunnel. Will reached out and pulled on a body to get further ahead. He reached out again, and constantly getting stomped and trampled upon was making it really hard to breath.

Soon the sharp sting of his fingers getting stepped on made him pull his hand back. Will cried out with the pain and soon a boot stomped on the back of his head. He knew he wasn't going to last long under the torrent of people plowing over him. He reached out again and pulled himself further, then further, trying to get past the pain of being trampled, trying to get to a spot where he could get up and keep running.

Will made it about 2 meters when it became too much and too hard. Another boot hit him in the back of the head, and Will saw bright spots in his vision. He laid face down in the bodies and covered the back of his head. Soon a foot clocked him on the right side of his temple, and that flipped him onto his side. Will tried to cradle his head, but more feet began stomping over him. A foot pressed into his side, then one into his arm. A lady with heels ran over his calf, and soon another foot kicked him right in the center of the forehead.

Will got dizzy and his body slowly began to not hurt anymore. After a few more steps on the face and kicks in the head, Will successfully lost consciousness. The crowds eventually moved up to the surface. Most of the people that were in the train station became infected and they chased the people that weren't infected out into the streets. Soon the Metro became empty. The only people left were a few remaining Infected, and the hundreds of dead bodies that littered the floor of the station; People that were beaten to death by the Infected, the Infected that were beaten down by Uninfected people, and those unfortunate enough to fall and get crushed to death by the multitude of those trying to escape.

Artu came out of the restroom in shambles. An ear was ripped off, what little hair he had was pulled out, three of his fingers were bitten off. He emerged from the restroom a bloody mess and he was full of hate. His eyes were blood red, and blood was frothing out of his mouth. He stumbled into the tunnel with fierce determination. He couldn't understand why, but he wanted to kill someone, for any reason at all. He was so full of anger and rage that he couldn't seem to align his thoughts in any particular order.

Artu growled and snarled as he stumbled down the tunnel. His shirt being the only thing on, his legs showed trails of blood where his attackers had clawed and bit him. His buttocks still had feces pasted to it from being interrupted, and all that mattered to him now was to get out. His attackers pulled off his shoes and tore away at his pants, so now he was a bloody mess walking around the dead Metro with only one sock and a torn, button up shirt.

As he walked over the dead bodies lying out in front of him like a carpet, Artu sniffed the air. There was something in it that offended him. It didn't smell like him, and it didn't smell like the dead… Artu couldn't place it.

And then he heard something.

Artu turned his head quickly and hissed at the noise. He ran as fast as he could over the dead bodies to get to the source of the noise. He stopped and looked down to a man who was bloody and beaten. At first glance he appeared to be dead, just as everyone else around him. Artu leaned in close to the man's face and hit the man's forehead with the palm of his hand. The man's eyes creased slightly and he quietly groaned.

Artu hissed at the man once again and punched him in the face, then again, and again. Then Artu began to beat the man repeatedly, snarling, hissing and screeching the whole time. Artu screamed out his fury, and began to wale into the man who was lying unconscious on the ground. A fist hit the man's cheekbone, a fist flew into his forehead, into his ribs, into his sternum, into his gut. The young man lying on the ground was helpless against Artu's fury.

Then another noise.

Artu looked over to his right and saw a little girl crawling out from underneath her dead mother. She must have been no older than 9. She was crying and panting at the struggle of getting out, and finally stood up. She looked up at Artu and didn't hesitate in screaming at the top of her lungs in horror. Artu screamed out in anger in response and ran after her. The little girl ran away as fast as she could, with Artu right on her tail. She led him out to the streets and soon the Metro was quiet all over again.

Will wasn't able to keep conscious for more than a moment. He laid on the floor, freshly beaten by…whoever it was. It hurt for a moment for him, but he soon slipped back into the dark void and was out once again.


	2. Chapter 02: The Couple

The Couple.

Marcel and Victoire had only wooden clubs in their hands to fight off the Infected. They had made their way from Bois de Boulogne Park and ran non-stop to Montmartre. The Infected were still after them and Victoire didn't think she could breathe anymore. If it weren't for Marcel holding her hand, she would probably have given up a long time ago.

They trekked up the stairs of Rue de Mont Cenis, where the Infected tripped and stumbled over one another trying to get up. As exhausting as it was, going up the long stairs helped with Victoire and Marcel's escape. Marcel looked back and saw the large group behind them was far enough away that they could duck into a nearby alley, and try to find shelter. Marcel pointed to their right on Rue de St. Vincent, where both he and Victoire turned down and ran behind a building.

"_Chut, restons ici en attendant." _ Marcel whispered to Victoire and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He looked around the side of the building back to the streets, and they were completely empty. Victoire leaned against the wall and tried to hold back her breathing as best she could, taking in small, shallow breaths and breathing out her nose. She didn't want to make any noise to get their attention. Marcel waited and soon he saw them. They hissed and screamed as they ran past, and one of them turned his head in their direction.

Marcel quickly turned back and leaned against the wall with a gasp. Victoire squeezed his hand in alarm. Marcel carefully took another look and saw that they were still running past. The two of them had gone unnoticed.

_"__Allons-y !__"_ Marcel whispered more insistently.

They quickly made their way to a nearby door at the building across from them and Victoire quickly knocked on it. Marcel didn't wait for an answer before he turned the handle and found it unlocked. They both went inside and locked the door behind them. Inside they found themselves in a hotel room that was apparently emptied that morning. Some clothes remained on the floor and food was left out on the kitchen counter, but it was otherwise a very nice place to be.

Marcel quickly went to the front door, with his club still in hand and made sure it was locked. He then turned off the lights and returned to Victoire who was washing the blood off of her hands. Agreeing that it was a good idea, Marcel followed her example. He rinsed all the blood off of his hands and dried them on the kitchen towel. Marcel opened the refrigerator and found four bottles of water, as well as some food. He took two bottles out, opened one and handed it to Victoire. She gratefully accepted and swallowed half of the water in one long drink.

_"__Merci__."_ Victoire thanked Marcel as she gasped from a breath and wiped some dribble off her chin.

He smiled to her, took her hand and they made their way up the stairs to the second floor. From one of the bedrooms, they could see the streets below, and the Infected running around. They both thought it was a good idea to stay away from the windows, lest they be seen.

_"__Et maintenant, on fait quoi ?"_ Victoire asked.

Marcel looked at her and smiled. _"__On essaie de se reposer pour le moment__."_ He answered.

That sounded good to Victoire. Marcel took her hand and they both walked over to the side of the bed that was facing away from the door to the room, and closest to the window. In case any Infected did make their way inside, it might give them that much more time to get away. They laid down on the floor together, and Victoire held Marcel as close to her as she possibly could with her head resting on his chest. She then started to sob. Marcel stroked her hair as she sobbed quietly against him. He shushed her and promised that they would be ok.

She believed him.


	3. Chapter 03: French Class

French Class.

Ms. Somerset was a French teacher from America in her early 40's. Though she felt that she was getting up in age, she didn't look it in the slightest. In fact the only reason any guy got her class was because of how beautiful she was. She had recently taken a small group of students with her on a trip to Paris but hadn't expected everything to happen as it did.

But how could anyone expect it? This wasn't her fault and the students that aren't with her now are gone because they made the choice not to show up at the Arc de Triomphe at 4:00 p.m. and now they're all separated. The only people that either showed up or stayed with her were the three horniest guys in the classroom, they were all in their mid 20's and all drooled over her whenever she was around. Ms. Somerset liked one of them, Fred, he was the nice one out of the three.

He was a gentleman who would open doors not only for ladies but also for anyone who had to get through, only out of courtesy. Though it was obvious that he found Ms. Somerset attractive, she appreciated how much of a hard worker he was and that he knew how to treat a woman. The other two were pigs and she would have preferred it if they hadn't had come along on the trip. But now that the infection had spread into Paris, when the world was told that it had been wiped away, they all needed to stick together.

Carl, Zach and Fred were making sure that nothing happened to Ms. Somerset. They had all waited at the Arc for nearly 2 hours, even after the people began running away. It was only after they were first attacked by an infected person that they couldn't wait for the rest of the group to show up. Just as well too. The rest of the group was probably one of them, or joined the thousands of others who made their way up North.

When they were attacked, Carl was the one to kill it. Carl and Zach both joined in when any Infected came their way and would beat them down. They didn't stay long before they ran for their lives to get Ms. Somerset out of the way. But that was the only reason. Carl had never had to kill anyone before, but he liked how easy it was to do, and the feeling he got when it was over. It was like he accomplished something.

Ms. Somerset seemed more turned on at seeing Carl kill in her defense. Most women would. He had expected to get some hot European sex with one of the locals, but seeing as though they were now running to stay alive, he'd have to get some from Ms. Somerset later. He knew that the local girls were sluts, who were only interested in getting some foreign dick, and Carl wasn't going to get back to the states before he got his.

Zach was pretty much Carl's lackey. He would always go where Carl went, do what Carl would do, talk how Carl talked and dress as he would dress. Zach was a follower, and would only feel important if the leader of the pack respected him. And the leader of the pack was Carl. Zach didn't know that this was his way of thinking, however and would go about life as if he were the one in charge putting anybody down who seemed low or less, in Carl's eyes, and he would get the feeling that he was more important. Zach was very one-dimensional.

Fred was one of Carl's good friends and had earned Carl's respect by being who he was. Fred wasn't a follower by any means, but respected other people's decisions to act as they would. He would talk as Carl and Zach would, but he very rarely got into fights, would keep to himself if there were something he disagreed with, and usually tried to instigate peace wherever he went. He was all about having a good time, but only to the extent where no one gets hurt. Fred wanted to fuck and have fun, just as the other guys did, but he didn't agree with Carl on getting it any way that he could. Carl once said that pussy was pussy, and whatever pussy you don't get you lose…Fred didn't agree with that statement. He figured that if he has sex, it should be meaningful to both him and the girl he's with, it shouldn't be all about him.

Fred was hanging back with Ms. Somerset while Zach and Carl would fight off the Infected. They managed to, at first, pick up some bottles that they would use to club and eventually stab their attackers. Soon Zach found a police-club and Carl found a bat, and they would beat any attacker down as they made their escape. Fred had a pocket knife with him, which he gave to Ms. Somerset in case they couldn't protect her, and he retrieved a good solid pipe that was about 2 feet long. Fred only had to fight off one guy that attacked them, while Carl and Zach were busy having fun beating down and swinging their clubs into any infected attacker that made their way to them.

Fred only hit a man in the head a couple of times, enough to knock him down, but Carl turned around and beat him to death when he was done with the others. Fred didn't like how Carl enjoyed it, but congratulated him nevertheless. Once they were free of the Infected, for the moment, they decided to run as fast as they could to try to find a place to hide. There were plenty of places to run into, but most of them had windows that were smashed out, or doors that were broken off. Ms. Somerset said that going into a place where the doors were open would be a bad idea, since they didn't know what could have opened those doors and still be inside.

Fred agreed with her and suggested looking for a place with closed doors. They might be locked, but that meant there might be people who were uninfected inside to add to their numbers. They all turned off down an alley and found what appeared to be a veterinary clinic with its doors shut. Carl ran up to it, turned the handle and was pleased to find that it opened without fail. They made their way inside and found everything to be in good order. It was very quiet and uninhabited, with the exception of the animals in cages in the very back. This would be a good place to hold up while they wait for help to come.

Ms. Somerset pulled out her laptop and tried to get online for help. She had a satellite connection to her computer, so it wasn't hard to hook up to the Internet. She tried to get into contact with the French and American Embassies by finding their phone numbers online, however there was no signal to use for her phone so she had to email them. She sent an email stating that she and her students were American; that they needed to get back into their own country and she gave the address of the place they would hide and wait.

Ms. Somerset heard a loud crash that made her jump in her seat. When she looked up she saw Carl and Zach throw a fire extinguisher down to the floor and pull out snacks from the snack machine they just broke. They had no food, and she didn't know how long they would have to wait, so she didn't scold them for their decision. She looked off to the side and saw Fred was standing by the window, waiting to see if anyone was coming to get them. He was paranoid, and she didn't blame him at all.

"There's a girl running out there!" Fred called out to Ms. Somerset, Carl and Zach. They all ran to him and looked out the window to see a young girl in her late teens running for her life down the street.

Carl opened the door and yelled to her. _"Hé ! Par ici ! Venez par ici !"_

The girl turned and looked at him waving her over. She didn't hesitate and ran as fast as she could in his direction. Behind her were two men running as fast as they could, shrieking and hissing as they chased. She was crying as she ran through the door, and the ones chasing her met up with Fred, Carl and Zach who were ready to stop them. All three of them beat her followers to death as the girl fell into Ms. Somerset's arms crying her eyes out. The entire brawl took only a matter of minutes.

She would be safe for now.

Carl and Zach met knuckles as they congratulated each other on their fresh kill. Fred didn't feel as good and made his way past the two of them. He approached the girl who was still in the arms of Ms. Somerset.

"Is she gonna be alright?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Ms. Somerset said, retaining her role as the Teacher.

"_Ca va aller ?"_ Fred asked with a sincerely concerned tone.

The girl looked up at him and shook her head. _"C'était mon petit ami."_ She responded and began bawling more.

"What did she say?" Zach asked.

Fred turned his head to Zach. "We just killed her boyfriend."

"Well shit, what the fuck were we supposed to do? We saw what those zombies do to people. I don't want to become one of them."

"There was nothing you could do. They were trying to kill her." Ms. Somerset spoke up. "She'll be alright."

Fred and Zach both sighed at this as they went inside and took a seat. Carl remained standing and just watched his French teacher and the new girl that was with them. She looked pretty good. He'd fuck her.


	4. Chapter 04: Will

Will.

After being knocked out for nearly an hour, Will gasped and opened his swollen eyes. He looked around and saw nothing but the ceiling and the lights. He couldn't remember where he was or why he was there. His body hurt him, and it took nearly all of his strength to pick himself up. When his vision cleared and he was able to grasp what was around him, only then did notice that he was sitting in a sea of freshly dead bodies. There was blood all over him that drained from the people and pooled between them. He felt all of the fresh bruises and whelps that were all over his face and chest but there weren't any cuts or scrapes, save for the ones on his knees that, fortunately, made no contact with any blood.

He remembered everything again and why it was so important not to have any open wounds. He saw all of the blood that now drenched his clothes and knew that it wouldn't be safe to wear them anymore. Some of the blood that got on him could be infected, which meant that all of it was infected. Will got up, looked around and tried to be extra careful not to make any noise. He tried as carefully as he could to walk around the bodies, but found it to be really difficult. There were times Will had to step on the dead, just to get his footing. Then he saw the big, wonderful sign. _"Toilettes"_

He carefully and painfully made his way to the men's restroom and saw that the door was propped open by a dead man who had fallen in the doorway. Will cautiously peeped in, and heard nothing. It must have been safe. He went into the restroom and dragged the dead body in with him, since the other bodies piled up in front of the door made it more difficult to leave the dead man outside.

The restroom was empty but was stained with blood all over the walls and toilet stalls. Will turned on the water and unrolled a long sheet of paper towel. He then proceeded to wash his hands thoroughly with plenty of soap. After going over his hands obsessively for 5 minutes, Will rinsed them off and began to wash them again. When he was satisfied, he then splashed the cold water to his face. The cold made his whelps ache, but it felt good. He then took soap and lathered his face with it and the cold water until he was certain everything was clean. Will dried off his hands and face and then used the damp towel to turn off the water.

He licked his lips.

Because of the dry air around that time of year, Will had problems keeping his lips from chapping. He pulled out his lip-balm and coated both the upper and lower lip, leaving him feeling much better than he had. But he still needed to get home and back to his Aunt. If nothing else, just to get out of those bloody clothes.

Will walked over the dead bodies and heard the noise of something disturbing. He wasn't sure what it was, at first, because it sounded too faint. Then as he listened, he was able to tell it was the distinct sound of a baby crying. He quickly made his way down the tunnel he heard the screaming from and looked for the source of the crying. If there was a baby crying, and no Infected have come to kill it, then the area must be safe for the time being.

Will made his way into the tunnel and saw that there were just as many dead people in there as there were in the tunnel he came from. He walked over the dead bodies and found the baby on the ground next to a dead woman who, Will assumed, was the child's mother. There was blood all over the baby's face and Will soon realized that the baby was crying hysterically. This was not a baby that was screaming in distress, as Will had originally thought. This baby's head was thrashing back and forth, it's screaming was hoarse and turning raspy. The baby vomited blood and soon began screaming more. Then it opened its eyes and looked up directly at Will. The baby went quiet for a second and soon began screaming louder than it had. Will didn't think the child could scream much louder and was frightened when it did. He looked down at this infected infant and slowly backed away with sorrow in his eyes. Will didn't know what to do. He just wanted to leave.

As Will made his way through the station, he could hear the baby's screams following him out until he made his way up to the surface. What he saw took his breath away. The streets were completely empty. There weren't any Infected or Uninfected to be found. The emptiness of it all scared him and it was still another 5 kilometers to his Aunt's flat. It was going to get dark soon and the baby's screams were stuck in his mind the whole way.

Will ran home as fast as he could. He was surprised that there were no Infected around to chase him. It took nearly an hour to get there, but it was worth the run when he did. He ran up the stairs to his Aunt's flat, unlocked the door and made it inside.

"Nathalie?" Will called out. "Aunt Nat?"

There was no answer. Will locked the door behind him and walked into the living room. On the coffee table was a letter with 'Will' written on the top of it.

It read…

'My dearest Will, I wanted to wait for you but the busses have come to take us to Belgium, and they won't wait any longer. The army said we would be safe there. I hope, more than anything, you're safe and that you don't get a chance to read this, but if you do, there is an army base with soldiers that will protect you in Belgium. Do whatever it takes to get there. I have to go now. You're the only family I have and I love you very much. Stay alive.

-Nat.

Belgium… Will would get there, but not before he got cleaned off. Will stripped off his clothes and threw them in the trash. He went into the bathroom, turned on the water, and drew up a hot shower. He hand-washed all the blood off of his body, and then scrubbed as much as he could with a rag, using plenty of soap. He shampooed his hair, combed it deep with his fingers, and re-washed it until he was confident he was clean. Then he started the whole process over again. He lathered his body up for a second time, and suddenly the lights went out.

Alarm set in Will's mind at first, but then he settled down when he realized the power plants must have been shut down. The same must have happened in England during the first outbreak. He quickly rinsed off, felt his way through the dark bathroom and emerged from it into the hallway. There was enough light coming from outside that Will could see to get to the candles in the kitchen. He found them and began lighting two for each room.

Still naked, Will walked to his room where he pulled out a backpack and some clothes. He packed everything together and thought about food. He was probably going to need some if he was going to have to cross Picardy to get to Belgium, and he wasn't even sure he could get a ride. He may have to walk. Will figured it would be a little more than a day to trek to Belgium if he went through Picardy, two days if he went through Champagne. Being on the north end of Paris put him closer to Belgium through Picardy, otherwise the journey would be about the same.

**Bang!**

Will snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. All was quiet for a moment until he heard another bang. He stepped out into the hallway, looked down into the living room and heard the banging coming from the door. An Infected was trying to get in.

Will went back into his room and looked around for a bat, or anything to fight with…then it caught his eye. Will looked up above the doorway and saw his replica 15th century Scottish broadsword mounted just within his reach. He unhooked it from the mount and was ready to fight with it. It was the only weapon in the house.

The window next to the door shattered open, letting the Infected into the house. Will waited for them to come into his room. It would be a small entrance, and they would all have to come in through one door. He chose to stand his ground, but could feel his legs shaking. He'd never killed anyone before, not even in self-defense. He never had to. His heart pounded within his chest, and he could hear the beats in his ears. His face felt flushed, and it burned. He knew he was about to die.

The first one came in, and it was a man who looked to be in his 30's. Will didn't hesitate and sliced through the man's neck. He swung the sword like a bat. The next one who came in was a girl in her 20's and another girl who looked to be in her teens. Will swung left and right and hacked them down. More came in and began flooding the doorway. Will would stab one in the face and come down on another's head. He'd run another through in the eye, slash through and hit another across the chest. Will discovered that hitting them anywhere but around the neck and head would only slow them down, it wouldn't stop them. So he continued to aim high.

Will swung the sword around and imbedded it into the side of a man's head. It got stuck so as another Infected came in, Will twisted it out and brought it up just in time to run the man through the chest. The man still clawed at Will, so he kicked the man off and stabbed him through the side of the neck while he was down.

It was now quiet for the moment.

Will looked up and saw that he had successfully killed everyone that had come in, but he heard more. He decided to run out into the hallway and fight in the living room. He got into the hallway, met up with an infected woman and stabbed his sword through her right eye socket and out the back of her head. He pulled the sword out and ran it through the underside of another man's chin, making it pop out the top of his skull.

Will was scared before it all started, but he was surprised at how easy it was to kill someone. It was still a struggle to fight off every one of them, but all he really had to do was keep them at sword's length, and he was ok. The sword was sharp and ran through them easily. Before he knew it, it was all over. There were a few Infected still on the ground, gasping for life, but Will soon put an end to them. Will did a quick count and found 17 dead bodies on the floor of his house, 17 people that he killed.

His body was glistening in the candlelight with blood, sweat and shower water he hadn't had a chance to dry off. He was burning up with the heat of the fight, and could feel how red his ears must have been, despite the fact that he had blood all over him. He looked around and deducted that they must have been attracted to the candlelight. He quickly blew all of them out, went for the broken window and stacked chairs against it.

Will took one more shower to clean off all the blood, and then he had an epiphany. He emerged from the shower, clean once again, went into his closet and found his ski gear. He felt the jacket and determined that it would be thick enough. Will smiled to himself in the dark.


	5. Chapter 05: Loli

Loli

Loli was a girl in her early twenties who was living with her roommates in a hotel in Montmartre. The dorm at her college was being fumigated, so she and her two roommates decided to find a nice place to stay.

She was now hiding in a closet.

She had heard them come in but Loli wasn't going to make a sound. She saw what they did to the people across the street. She saw the reports on the news. All she had to do was wait it out and she'd be ok. Whoever it was that came inside would eventually leave, and she would have the house back to herself. She would have to lock all the doors and shut all the blinds, which is something she didn't have a chance to do earlier. Loli had only just come home from school when she saw her roommates had left. She heard the screaming coming up from the road so she quickly ran inside, up the stairs and hid in the closet.

It was all over the news while she was at school, and her professors were the first to leave. She knew it was a bad idea to come back, but Loli thought that maybe her roommates would be waiting for her. She was wrong. Whoever it was, they had been there for a while, and she hadn't heard any talking. It had to be one of those sick people.

One of them walked by her closet door, and she held her breath.

"_Y'a plus de courant."_ Loli heard a male voice say, as he passed by.

It couldn't be one of the sick people, they don't talk. Loli cautiously, and quietly opened the closet door and stuck her head out into the hallway. She saw the male figure walk into one of her roommate's bedroom and he continued to speak, but very quietly. She slowly crept towards the doorway.

"_Erm…'Allo?"_ Loli said softly in the doorway.

Both the man and the woman he was talking to jumped up and yelped.

_"Vous venez d'où ?"_ The man demanded.

Loli looked at both the man and the woman before answering. _"__J'habite ici.__"_

The man and the woman both sighed and soon they introduced themselves as Marcel and Victoire. Loli explained that she was hiding from them because she thought they were infected, and had managed to make their way in. After getting to know Victoire and Marcel for a little bit, Loli was relieved to be in the house with some decent people. More than that though, she was glad that she wasn't alone.


	6. Chapter 06: The Walk to Belgium

The Walk to Belgium.

Will knew it would be a long time before he got into Belgium, and he didn't know if he would even get there before becoming infected. He had done well so far, but at any moment he could get ambushed by hundreds of them, and he'd be dead. That's why he was as quiet as he possibly could be, always had his sword in hand, and was wearing severe padding to protect him. Will wore a heavy ski coat, thick overall ski pants, a ski mask and goggles, with some gloves on; Underneath the ski gear, Will was also wearing regular clothing so he felt that he was as protected as he could possibly be.

Then he had to test it out.

An Infected ran at him from behind a dumpster at full force, screaming loudly and hissing as he made his way to Will. Will made his stand and hacked down the man who attacked him, and soon more came. He stood and waited for them, but he could barely see because of the dark night and his goggles were shaded. Three of them were running at him. He did his best to cut them down as he had the first, but they were faster. He swung his sword at the first and caught it by the throat. Putting that infected attacker out of commission, Will swung at the second and third. When Will swung his sword one of the Infected ducked the swing and charged again.

Will was surprised by this infected man's cunning. He thought the Infected were nothing but mindless, rabid animals. He didn't hesitate to come back around a little lower the second time, though, and caught the man between the ribs. Will pulled his sword out of the man's side and hacked into his neck. At that time the third Infected hopped onto Will's back, screaming her rage at him. Will was caught off balance and could suddenly feel the woman biting him through the scarf he had wrapped around his neck. It was thick enough so that she couldn't penetrate, however the pressure of the bite still hurt and Will cried out in pain.

He grabbed the woman by her hair and tried to pull her off. He failed to do so, however, and only ripped out the hair he had a hold of. She began clawing at Will and pulled him down to the ground. When she let go, he looked up and saw that she got off just to get into a better position over his front. She straddled Will and tried to rip at his mask. He was having a difficult time with her, and couldn't stab her because he dropped his sword. Will tried to get a grip on her wrists, and head butted her in the nose when he finally did. This knocked the woman back to the ground, and Will finally managed to get his sword back. He stood up and she charged in at him again. He met her charge with his sword in her chest and pushed her to the ground.

While on the ground, the infected woman tried to scream out at him, but she lost her breath in doing so. She continued to hiss and claw up to him, but he held her down to the ground with his sword jutting up from her right breast. Will frowned at the woman from beneath his mask and kicked up at her chin as hard as he could, breaking it out of place, and twisting her head around so sharp that it broke her neck.

The night went quiet once again.

Will looked down at the two men he just killed, and the woman lying dead at his feet. Who were they? What did they do in life? Would Will have gotten along with them if he had known who they were before the infection. Will didn't doubt that they may have once been good people, but he didn't want to think about that. He wasn't killing good people just then; he was defending himself from mindless animals that would have torn him apart. These creatures had no soul, they were no longer human. Who they once were had died the moment they became infected and Will couldn't feel bad about that.

But he did try to keep his presence unknown as he made his way through the night. The Paris streets were now dangerous and he had to keep going through them. Paris once looked radiant at night, and he used to marvel at all the city lights. Now, with the lights turned off, it looked menacing to him and he just wanted to leave. Will thought about a warm bed, a cup of tea and a long night with nothing to do.

He was tired before he came home, now he had to walk to another country. It was going to be a long time before he had the comforts he desired. At least the night was cold and the ski gear was keeping him warm. When he first put the gear on, he thought he would overheat. The night was cold enough that he was comfortable with what he had on. He had to look at the positives of the situation he was in.

So Will quietly and cautiously crept through the streets of Paris and remained unnoticed. He thought back to that baby in the tunnel. Was it still crying? Had an Infected killed it? No, for some reason the Infected didn't kill their own. Maybe it was true when they say misery loves company, and if that was the case, that child had to have been the most miserable and pathetic form of life in all of Paris. Will was sure the child was still lying there with its mother's dead arm over it, screaming in the dark at its own fear and fury.

Goosebumps crawled all over Will as he thought of the screaming and how eerie it would have been to be alone with it in that dark tunnel. He should have killed the baby when he had the chance. Put it out of its misery. Then Will thought about what that child would have amounted to had the infection not spread. What would the baby have become? What good or wrong was that child capable of in the next 20 years? Will quietly continued down the Paris streets thinking about it. He couldn't get the baby's screaming out of his head.


	7. Chapter 07: Alone Again

Alone again.

Marcel and Victoire had wanted some time alone together, and Loli had given it to them. She waited downstairs for them to get done, knowing full well what they were going to be up to. Marcel kissed Victoire passionately and was glad to have this moment alone with her. It might just be the last moment alone they would ever have. They embraced one another and began stripping each other down. Marcel slid his hand down into Victoire's pants and began to grope and feel around. Victoire gasped with pleasure when he ran his finger over her clitoris.

Marcel smiled down at Victoire at feeling how wet she was for him. He slid a finger into her, and then another. She moaned at him pleasing her, and dug her nails into his back… Then something was wrong. Neither of them knew it, and how could they? Most people, who wash their hands, don't get everything out of and around the fingernails.

Seconds went by and Marcel continued kissing her, unaware that there was any problem at all. She usually loved it when he was forceful and dominant, but something was wrong with her, and he wasn't stopping. Seconds ticked away and Marcel didn't stop. He kept fingering her and kissing her passionately. She began to convulse and bit his lip. It hurt him, but he still thought she was being kinky. Her body began to thrash as he rubbed on her clit, and Marcel was convinced he was doing something right, and suddenly blood was forced into his mouth and down his throat as she vomited into him.

"_Aaaah merde !"_ Marcel screamed out in shock and panic, spitting as much blood out as he could. He looked down at Victoire who was now on the floor hissing and having spasms.

Loli sat downstairs and heard them yelling and screaming. She knew they wanted to have some personal time together, but they were going to attract attention of the sick people if they kept screaming as they were. She began to go upstairs to try to get them to be quiet, when suddenly she heard no noise at all.

Loli froze in her steps.

"_Marcel? Victoire?"_ Loli called out to the two of them. She still got no response. She waited for a few more seconds for them to say something but got no answer.

Suddenly the door opened slightly, and Loli could see the dark room emerge from the crack in the doorway. Either Marcel or Victoire was looking out at her.

"_Il faut rester calme."_ Loli calmly and kindly insisted.

The door opened up more and she could see the form of a man standing in the doorway, looking down at her. Suddenly he hissed, opened the door and ran down the stairs at her, with Victoire right behind him.

Loli yelped when she saw them and didn't hesitate to turn and run away. She made her way out the front door and took off down the street as fast as she possibly could. She could hear Marcel and Victoire screaming and hissing behind her as she ran, and it sounded like they were gaining. Tears streamed down her face as she ran for her life, but she kept running.


	8. Chapter 08: The Gun

The Gun

"It's fucking cold." Zach exclaimed. When the power went off, so did the heat and nobody was dressed up enough for the cold since it was actually pretty warm during the day.

"I'll go see what I can find." Fred offered and got up to head towards the back, with his flashlight in hand.

He went back into the area with all the animals caged up. There were a lot of flies buzzing around and Fred waved them all away. He looked into the cages and saw a bunch of dogs whimpering. He decided to unlock them all and let them loose. When he got them all out of their cages, they basically stood around and waited for him to do something. Fred went towards the back door and shooed them all out. None of the dogs hesitated and ran at full force out of the back of the building.

Fred looked around some more and went into another room. He jumped back with shock when he pointed the flashlight down to a dead man in a chair with a revolver hanging off a finger of his limp right arm. Fred looked to the ground and saw a dead woman and a little girl, each with a bullet hole in their heads. The man had one bullet hole over his right ear and a big gaping hole where the other ear should have been.

Fred looked around the room to make sure there was no one else, and when he was satisfied that he was alone, he examined the dead woman and girl. They each had blood on their mouths and the girl had bite marks on her neck and arms. They must have been infected and this man killed them. But why did he kill himself? Then Fred understood that the woman and girl must have been this man's family. He killed them in self-defense, and then committed suicide.

With a frown on his face, Fred took the revolver from the man's finger and kept it to himself. He went back into the cage area and found blankets that each of the dogs were using to sleep on.

"I got us some blankets." Fred called out, and tossed one to each of the people in the room.

Zach caught his and smelled it. "This smells like shit!"

"I found them in the dog cages. It was all I could find." Fred explained.

Zach rolled his eyes and wrapped himself up, as did everyone else.

"And I found this." Fred said as he pulled out the gun. "A dead man was back there with it in his hand. We could use it."

Carl slowly walked up to Fred with his eyes on the gun the whole time. "Let me see that." He said.

Fred looked at Carl and quickly handed him the gun. Carl held it in his hand and admired it. He gave Fred the bat he was wielding and went back to his seat with the gun in hand. Fred gave Carl a puzzled look, but figured that if anyone needed the gun, it was Carl. Ms. Somerset wasn't too thrilled about the idea.


	9. Chapter 09: Saving Loli

Saving Loli

Loli ran as fast as she could, and her new friends were right on her heels trying to kill her. She knew she was going to die. She should have just stayed in that closet and never come out. She couldn't help but cry as she ran. All her family and all her friends, her roommates…they were all gone. She was alone and there was nobody to help her.

"_Est-ce que quelqu'un peut m'aider ? S'il-vous-plaît ?"_ Loli cried out and pleaded.

Suddenly a man in a dark suit came out of the corner wielding a sword. Loli was startled and gasped when she saw him. He gently grabbed her and spun her behind his back. Once she was behind the man, she saw him slice down the two people she had spent that evening with. First went Marcel, then Victoire. This man sliced off both of their heads in two separate swings and then the night was quiet once again.

The man turned to Loli, and was a good head taller than she was. She looked up at him and couldn't help being afraid. He wore a mask and had dark shaded goggles on that reminded her of bulging eyes, making him look very alien to her. She knew that what he was wearing was ski gear, but seeing it from a man who had just decapitated two people in the dark made him look more menacing.

He looked around, grabbed Loli by the shoulders and eased her back into the alleyway. She complied with the man who just saved her life, but she was a bit apprehensive. He looked down the street once more and came back to her. He took off his goggles and ski mask, and Loli saw that he was an attractive man with very kind eyes. He smiled at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Loli only knew very little English, but she understood the nature of his question and nodded her head.

_"Parlez vous français?"_Loli asked.

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't." He looked down the alley once again, then redirected his gaze to Loli. He pointed to himself. "I'm Will."

_"Will?"_Loli asked.

Will nodded his head and smiled to her.

_"Je suis Loli… I'm Loli."_She said and smiled to Will with tears still brimming her eyes and falling down her cheeks.

Will smiled to her once again. "Well Loli, it's very nice to meet you. Let's get out of here."

She could barely understand anything he just said, but he took off a glove and extended a hand for her. She looked at it for a second before taking it in hers, and they both decided to make a run for it. They continued running down the streets of Paris together, trying desperately to stay quiet and avoid any Infected that might be in the area.

Loli didn't know this man, and if she had met him before all of this happened she didn't know if she would have held any fascination with him at all, but he saved her life and for some reason she felt strangely drawn to him. She felt a sort of comfort in being with him, holding his hand. She didn't know if it was a mild attraction or if it was just the rush of the moment, but she was with him now and she wasn't going to leave his side.

Time went by as the two of them ran…

A lot had happened that day, and the people she thought she had comfort in turned out to mysteriously become sick and infected. Loli didn't understand how it happened, and she prayed it wouldn't happen again. All she could do was stay quiet and by Will's side until they found a place to hide. As scared as she was, Loli couldn't help but think of Will's smile.

Then there was more screaming and yelling behind them. Loli turned her head and saw that there were now 8 infected people hell-bent on tearing them apart. They had run for nearly an hour without being noticed, Loli was a fool to think herself safe. She squeezed Will's hand and he turned around to face them. He put his ski mask back on as they approached.

The first one went down quick by the end of Will's sword, and Loli was shocked to see how fluid he was at swinging it into their attackers. Then the next one, and then the next one went down. Will turned his head and looked at her.

"Hide!" Will screamed.

Not knowing exactly what he said, but understanding the meaning, she quickly ran down an alley and hid by a doorway. Will went back and continued running through the sick people. There was so much blood, Loli thought she was going to be sick. Will swung in an arch and sliced off an attacker's face, leaving the man screaming and thrashing about at nothing. Will looked to be almost overrun when screaming came from another direction.

This wasn't screaming that was known from the sick people, this was yelling with intent. Loli looked past the corner and saw another, younger looking, man running at full force with a bat in his hands. Another man who had a club soon joined him. They joined Will in the fight, and 3 more Infected came running towards the commotion. Loli was terrified at seeing these men in the fight against the attackers. She was scared also for the man who saved her life. _What if Will becomes infected?_

She heard screaming from behind her and turned to see a sick person running straight for her. Before she had a chance to run, a gunshot rang in the air and the front of her attacker's head erupted with blood. She turned back to see a new man holding a gun in her direction. It lowered and he gave her a cool smirk. She smiled back at him and heard the sound of female voices yelling.

"_Venez par ici."_ The voices cried out. Loli looked across and down the street a little ways, and saw two girls standing in a doorway, waving and beckoning her over. Loli didn't hesitate and ran straight to them. She looked back at Will and the other two men fighting. They looked to be winning against the Infected. Once she met up with the two young women in the doorway, she looked back and saw the man, who just shot her newest attacker in the head, staring at her with that smirk on his face. Loli went inside with the two women and hid, while the four men outside resumed their killing.

She went in and shivered at not only the cold, but also at the fear of the night. The younger of the two women got her a blanket and wrapped it around Loli. Loli smiled her appreciation. A few more minutes of fighting and screaming went on and soon all was quiet. The three women in the room stood patiently as they waited for the men to return. Then one of them did. The biggest of the 4 men, with the gun, was first to come in, then the one with the club, then Will. Loli smiled and sighed with relief when she saw Will walk in, and he was followed by the smallest one in the group, the one with the bat.

They all came in and sat down. Will then took off his mask and smiled to Loli.


	10. Chapter 10: Getting to Know Others

Getting to know Others.

Will and Fred both worked together to close and bar up the doors and windows, while the rest of them sat in the small room behind the reception desk, wrapped up in warm blankets that smelled of dog. As they sat together, they all introduced themselves to Loli. The first introductions were from Carl and Zach. Ms. Somerset introduced herself and then the younger girl, Roxanne. She went by Roxy.

Loli was relieved to see that she was surrounded by more than just two people and that there were those who could fight off the Infected if any came around. Not that Loli couldn't fight if she had to, just that she had no weapon and the sick people terrified her. She had heard about what the Infected did and how quick it could spread…she had seen how quick it could spread just tonight, and she didn't want to have to touch any of them.

Will and Fred both finished barricading the doors and windows and sat with everyone else in the small room. Will sat in the circle across from Loli and smiled to her, she gave him a big smile in return. Carl noticed this and looked over to Loli.

"_Je suis content d'avoir pu aider à tuer le type qui vous attaquait."_ Carl said to her with a self-satisfied smirk.

Loli smiled to Carl. _"Merci, moi aussi."_

Carl nodded his head slightly and rolled his eyes over to Will, who gave a nervous smirk to acknowledge Carl's glance and directed his gaze to the floor.

"So where're you from?" Carl asked Will.

Will looked up from his gaze to the floor and locked eyes with Carl. "I'm from Falkirk, Scotland."

"Scotland? Is that in England or something?" Carl ignorantly asked.

Will looked over to Ms. Somerset, who just rolled her eyes in disgust. Will looked back at Carl.

"Yeah, something like that."

Will could tell by the tone in Carl's questions that he was trying to get under his skin. He didn't know why. Will had done nothing against Carl in any way and couldn't place why he would act as he was.

"So your people were the ones to start this whole infection, right?" Carl asked.

"I heard the infection was created by terrorists in the Middle East and they dropped it on England as a test, since the English were our allies." Zach pitched in.

Will looked at Zach, then back at Carl. "No, I heard it was an experiment that went wrong in Cambridge and got loose. That's where I was when it all started." Will answered.

Loli asked something in French to Carl and he responded. Will looked at the two of them talking and redirected his gaze to Ms. Somerset.

"Do you have an internet connection on that laptop?" Will asked.

"Yeah, do you need to use it?"

"I need to look up something. To see where we're gonna be heading when we get the chance."

Fred looked over at Will. "I thought we were gonna wait here for troops to pick us up?"

Will looked over at Fred and shook his head. "They didn't do that for Britain when this first started, I doubt they'll do it for us now."

Zach spoke up. "Well then what do you suggest? We take our chances out there when those zombies are running around?"

Will shook his head. "No. My aunt left a note for me, when I got home, that said there are military bases in Belgium. If we can get there, without getting infected, we should be ok."

Will continued to look at the computer monitor and sighed. "Yeah, Belgium's where we need to go, but to get to Brussels is gonna be a long walk."

"How far is it?" Fred asked.

"A lot further than I thought. About 400 kilometers."

Zach scoffed. "And how far is that in miles?"

Will looked at him and shrugged. Ms. Somerset answered for him. "It would be around 200 something, maybe closer to 250."

"250 Miles? There's no way I'm walking 250 miles out there." Zach explained.

"Well maybe we won't have to. There might be a car we can grab on the way." Fred suggested.

"Do you know how to hotwire a car? Because I sure don't."

Will thought about what Zach just said. He didn't know how to hotwire a car either and if they were going to use a car to get to Brussels, it would not be likely for the keys to be resting in the front sun visor with the doors unlocked. In fact, to have the keys be anywhere but on the owner's person was extremely unlikely. Will began typing on the computer some more and spent another minute looking up something else.

"The U.S. news says that there was nothing they could do to contain the second outbreak. 'It got completely out of hand before they could react. Had the U.S. military been aware of the outbreak when only a few people were infected, they would have had troops go in to personally wipe out the disease, but it hit all the civilians before troops could do anything about it. Because all civilians were infected they were forced to firebomb the entire Isle of Dogs. U.S. Troops are currently searching for any uninfected survivors to evacuate to France…but due to the recent outbreak that has occurred there, the Military is beginning to pull out and take the survivors to Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, where their militaries, along with the remaining French and U.S. Troops have been deployed to maintain patrol along the entire French border.'"

Will sighed as he continued to read silently to himself everyone else waited quietly for him to finish. "They've bordered off this entire country. The only area that's accepting survivors is Belgium. Germany, Italy, and Switzerland have refused any French into their countries. Spain is allowing refugees to be admitted, but that's way too far away."

"Then I guess we're walking to Belgium." Zach said.

Will shook his head. "No, Fred was right, we have to find a car."

"Why?" Ms. Somerset asked.

"Because even though Belgium is allowing the French to come into their country, it's the closest to where the outbreak started here. There will be a lot more Infected to have to worry about that way."

"So we do need a car." Fred said in a solemn tone.

Will looked over to Carl and Loli chatting together in French, across the room. Every now and again Carl would glance over at Will and smirk at him. There wasn't much Will could do about it though. Loli was free to talk to whomever she wanted, including Carl. Will just wished he had learned French in the time he had lived in Paris.

"Here." He said to Ms. Somerset, as he handed the laptop back to her. "I've seen all I really care to look at." Will sighed, and rubbed his face with his bare hands.

"So what's your story? You were there when it all started?" Carl asked.

Will looked over at him. He was about to answer but Carl quietly repeated his inquiry in French to Loli. She looked at Will with a confused expression.

"Yeah. I was in Cambridge when it all happened. I was at school, working on my degree in Archaeology."

"So you have more experience with this than any of us."

"No. The day it all started, I was on my way to school, from Hertford, and got caught in some traffic. All the cars were backed up and it looked like there was some sort of accident up ahead. I heard police sirens everywhere and saw them driving on the side roads and in the grass, and I had no clue what the fuck was going on. I waited a few minutes and listened to the radio, and heard reports on the news saying that riots had broken out all over Cambridge. I decided to turn around and head back to my friend's in Hertford until everything cooled off.

'That night the riots had spread all over the news, and there were reports of rioters close to where we were, so my friend and I each decided to leave. We grabbed our belongings and took separate vehicles to her parent's place, in Oxford…"

"Her? Was she your girlfriend?" Carl interrupted.

Will glanced at Loli and nodded. "Yeah, she was. So we got caught up in more traffic, and soon we saw the rioters all over the streets. They were attacking people in their cars, so I took off on the grass and went around everyone. After dodging one person after another, when they would just keep jumping out at me, I finally got past all the traffic. Then she called me. I answered my phone and heard her screaming for help, so I decided to turn around, and that's when I hit a kid."

Will cleared his throat before continuing. "I didn't know that she hadn't followed me around the traffic, so I tried to go back for her, and a small boy hit my windshield as I turned. I stopped the car and got out to check on him… and he wasn't human. He had the red eyes and his mouth was all covered in blood. He snarled and clawed, trying to get at me, but I was so creeped out that I backed away from the kid, and soon more of them came out. They were really fast, and their screaming sent chills up my spine. I tried to talk to my…girlfriend, thinking she was still on the phone, but all I could hear was the same snarling and hissing that that little boy gave me. So I got back into my car and went back for her. When I got to the traffic, I saw people being killed in the streets. The rioters were tearing them up and they all had the same look that the little boy had.

'They all started running for me as I drove past, so I kept driving. I passed my girlfriend's car and saw the windows were smashed in. Blood was everywhere, and then I saw her. She was covered in blood but she looked straight at me. I stopped the car and she ran at me, the same as all the others. And…and I was afraid of her. I drove off as fast as I could and called my parents. They told me it was a disease that had gotten loose and was driving people insane. The virus had been reported in different places all over the UK, so my Mum and Dad told me to get on a plane and head for my Aunt's. I knew that London would be chaotic, so I stayed away from there, but the Infected just kept attacking from everywhere. Soon I couldn't drive a block without seeing one run into the street. I made my way into Nottingham later that night and got on the first plane to Paris.

'When I landed here, I was escorted by the French military and kept in a refugee camp for a month. I wasn't able to call my parents to see if they were alright, or call my Aunt to let her know I was safe… After a few weeks, we heard that England was a disaster zone and had been quarantined, and all English survivors who had family in France were allowed to transfer. So I guess I was one of the lucky ones. And I've been here in Paris for the past 8 months, only to find that this shit's happening all over again."

"The news said that they started letting people back in a month ago. Why didn't you go back home?" Miss Somerset asked.

"Either my parents died, or they became one of them. All my friends would be the same way and after the nightmare I went through to get out of that country, I couldn't go back. I didn't want to go back."

"Which is a good thing, because now everyone who did is dead." Carl added.

Will just nodded his head at Carl's remark. "So what about you? What is your story?"

Carl smirked. "I'm just an ugly American who decided to take a trip to Paris at the wrong time. The three of us…" He gestured to Zach and Fred. "…are all in the same French class. Miss Somerset said she'd show us all a good time while we were here. And the only good time I've had so far is bashing those fuckers' heads in."

Miss Somerset spoke up. "We lost the rest of our class, amidst the confusion, so we hid in here. Roxy showed up, then you and Loli."

"So here we are." Carl said and put a cigarette in his mouth. He then offered the pack to Will. "_Fag?_"

Will looked at Carl for a moment, smiled and walked over to him. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind having one." He said this and took a cigarette from Carl's pack.

"I bet."

"Got a light?" Will asked.

Carl pulled out his lighter and handed it to Will. Will lit his cigarette, handed the lighter back and Carl lit his. Zach pulled out his own cigarettes and decided to light one up.

Roxy spoke to Miss Somerset in French and she translated, with emphasis to her own opinion as well.

"You don't think they'll be able to smell that, do you?"

"If they could smell cigarette smoke, they'd probably already be able to smell us. We should be ok." Zach answered.


	11. Chapter 11: One of Them Turns

One of Them Turns.

"Do you have family you can go to? In another country?" Will asked Loli through Miss Somerset.

Loli shook her head, responded and Miss Somerset translated. "All of her family lives in Lyon. They've probably made their way to Switzerland, or Italy by now."

Will and Loli smiled to each other. "What made you move to Paris?"

Miss Somerset translated. "College."

"Looks like the Highlander's gone off on that pussy you wanted to fuck." Zach whispered to Carl. "But check out all the bitches in here. They're all fine."

"Yeah, but I still think that girl wants me." Carl said, nodding his head to Loli. "And she can have all she wants before this is over."

Fred was just sitting off by himself, watching the candle. They had covered all of the windows in the few hours that had passed by, so they deemed it safe to have a little bit of light. He was tired from the long day and was starting to doze off to hearing the quiet murmurs of everyone in the room. Fred looked at Roxy asleep with Will's sword resting on her. Before she fell asleep, she asked if she could look at it, Will agreed and gave it over to her. While admiring the sword, she eventually fell asleep with it resting on her forearm and Will decided not to take it back from her just yet. Roxy was asleep, Zach and Carl were talking amongst themselves and the other girls were chatting with Will.

Fred liked Will, he wasn't a bad guy. He didn't know why Carl had to be such a dick though. As soon as Carl saw Will, he started acting like a prick. Why would he do that? Fred glanced over at Will trying to communicate to Loli through Miss Somerset, and chuckled when he'd make an attempt at French. It was strange to Fred, seeing a Scottish guy try French in that accent.

Something flew in front of Fred's face and he shoed it away. He remained listening to everyone's murmurs, and he was starting to fall asleep, when he felt the small sting in his neck. He slapped at it, smeared it down his neck and took a look at what was in his hand. It was a crushed mosquito, with a streak of blood on his fingertips.

"You alright?" Zach asked at Fred's sudden slapping.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bug."

Fred scratched the itch at his neck, and a tingling sensation seemed to spread from the bite. It wasn't anything alarming, just something he noticed. Fred's heart rate began to increase slightly, as the seconds went by, and Fred started to grow nauseous. He glanced at Zach and Carl chatting amongst themselves, then to Miss Somerset talking to Will and Loli. He noticed Roxy asleep, and soon he could feel a pain in his chest.

"Ahh!" He screamed out, and began to vomit blood. Fred's body began to convulse and soon he could feel warmth. Like stepping into a warm bath, the feeling crawled up his skin and engulfed him. He felt trapped, like he was in a small room that was closing in on him. Fred's anxiety grew enormously and he began to feel anger for everything. Everyone in the room with him, shouldn't be in there. This was his space. Fred gasped again, twitched and threw up another pint of blood.

Will reached over as fast as he could respond, grabbed Fred's bat and struck it over the back of his head. Fred fell to the ground with a solid thud. Everyone was up and alert at this point. Fred remained motionless on the ground.

"What the fuck happened?" Zach demanded. "How the fuck could he have gotten infected?"

They all looked down at Fred… He was still breathing.

Will looked up to Roxy. "Could I have my sword, please?"

Roxy only handed the sword back when he stuck out his hand for it. He placed the tip on the back of Fred's neck.

"Wait!" Miss Somerset said.

Will looked up at her. "He's one of them. I don't care if he's a friend, he'll still try to kill us."

"The Mick's right. If we don't kill him, he will kill us." Carl agreed.

"I know that, but he's still your friend."

"Fuck that!" Zach hollered.

"Shhhh!" Miss Somerset hushed as Zach continued.

"Fred was a cool guy, no doubt, but I'm not gonna let him kill me just because you don't want him to die."

"Then throw him outside, or something. But we don't need to kill him."

Fred gagged in his unconscious state, threw up more blood and began to wheeze.

"He's a fucking zombie now. We have to kill him."

"Then throw him outside or something."

Carl spoke up. "He knows we're in here. They may be crazy, but they're not stupid. You've seen the way they move. If we just throw him outside, he'll know to come right back in."

"And I'm not going outside until daylight." Zach added.

Miss Somerset looked up at Will with tears brimming her eyes. "Please. Is there anything else we can do?"

Will still held the sword at the back of Fred's neck. He sighed heavily.

Carl, Zach and Will each dragged Fred into the back room and chained him down to the floor. Will raided through some of the medicine drawers and searched around.

"I can't read what any of these say. What's tranquilizer in French?" Will asked.

"_Tranquilisant_." Carl replied. "It's not that different."

Will searched through each drawer and found a big bottle that was labeled, _Tranquilisant pour Chevaux._ He filled an entire syringe with the tranquilizer, came over to Fred and knelt beside him.

"I don't know where to stick this." He said.

"Just stick it in him." Carl said.

"Yeah, but is it supposed to be injected into the tissue, or into the bloodstream? Do I need to find a vein, or what?"

"I think you're just supposed to stick it in him. Like in the movies, where they stick the needle in the guys ass."

Will's heart was racing and sweat began to bead along his forehead. He looked down at Fred and even though he was unconscious, Fred was panting with every breath. Will didn't know what to do. He would have preferred to just kill him, even though he had nothing against Fred personally. Killing him would have been simpler and risk free, but he was tired of killing people for the night, and maybe this would do something. But if it didn't, Fred could wake up and kill everyone, or at least alert the Infected on the outside.

"Fuck it." Will said and stuck the needle in the left cheek of Fred's buttocks.

Fred kept panting, as if the tranquilizer did nothing.

"Give him another shot." Carl insisted.

Will refilled the syringe and injected it into Fred once again. Fred began to have lighter breaths, but he was still panting. Will gave him one more, and soon Fred's breathing had calmed down.

"Wow. That might have actually worked." Will exclaimed.

Carl got up, walked towards the sink and got a rag. He brought it back to where Fred was chained down and looked at Will. "You think you could raise his head for me?"

Will looked up at Carl with a deep scowl, but complied. He raised Fred's head above the ground and Carl wrapped the rag over Fred's mouth and around the neck, gagging him.

"That should keep him from biting now."

Will nodded his head and Zach and Carl began to walk away.

"I'm tired. I'm gonna go to sleep. We can get out of here in the morning." Carl said as he left the room.

Will stood up and followed them out. Miss Somerset was waiting in the doorway with the candle in her hand. "Thank you." She said as Will went through.

He smiled at her and went into the waiting room with the others. He was tired too, and it would be a busy day when he woke up.


	12. Chapter 12: It Talks

It Talks.

Zach woke up very early that next morning with his pipe in one hand and Fred's bat in the other. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but it wasn't light outside yet. He thought he heard a zombie coming for him. He sat up from his blanket and looked around, trying to see in the dark. He couldn't hear anything.

"Hello?" He called out softly.

Then he heard it again. A snarling coming from the back. Then he heard someone running past him. Zach wished he could see but all that surrounded him was blackness.

"Carl?"

"Shh!" Came a shush from right beside him. "It's Fred. The Mick went in to shut him up."

"Can you see anything, Carl?"

"I can't see shit. He took the candle with him."

Zach's breathing began to increase as Fred started yelling. "Who just ran by?"

"I don't know. I think it was Miss Somerset."

Miss Somerset watched as Will stood in front of Fred with his sword firmly in his hand. Fred was secured to the ground with all of the chains they strapped to him, but he still thrashed around and was beginning to make a lot of noise.

"What are you waiting for? Inject it into him."

"I already did. 3 times." Will replied.

"And he's just as wild as ever? The tranquilizers aren't working?"

"No they're working. He's calmed down more than I thought he would."

Fred thrashed from underneath the chains and stared directly at Miss Somerset, his gag was halfway out of his mouth allowing for some screams to come out. Then he did something that neither Miss Somerset nor Will could have expected.

"Get me out!" Fred screamed as best he could from beneath the gag.

Will's eyebrows raised in surprise, and Miss Somerset's jaw dropped. Will pointed his sword at Fred's face and closed in on him a little more. "What did you just say?"

"I'm gonna kill you! Get me the fuck out! Aaaahhhhhhhh!" Fred said before vomiting blood from beneath his gag.

Will walked behind Fred and administered 2 more shots. Fred screamed but soon he began to calm down. His breathing was heavy and labored, but he never took his eyes off of Miss Somerset.

"I hate you!" Fred's voice was hoarse and deep.

Miss Somerset's eyes brimmed with tears as he said this to her. Out of him, Carl and Zach, Fred was the one she favored the most, and he hated her. Diseased or not, this man now truly hated her, she could see the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Are they supposed to speak?" She asked Will, trying to keep her voice under control.

Will was astonished, but tried to keep his wits about him. "I don't think so. I don't think anyone's been able to calm one down enough to see if they can talk anymore."

Miss Somerset was hurt that Fred hated her, but she soon became excited that this meant he was not completely lost. "Will, don't you see?"

Will lowered his sword from Fred's face as he turned to her. Fred continued to grunt and attempted to remove himself from the chains.

"If we look at this from an entirely scientific perspective, this virus shuts down any reason within the Infected and allows their primal urges to break loose."

Will nodded to her. "Go on."

"Their bodies must produce an incredible amount of adrenaline and the center of their brain that controls anger goes into overdrive. They're like a car without any coolant, but plenty of gas. If they can be slowed down, they can be made to rationalize again."

"Medulla Oblongata."

The excitement on her face vanished for a moment. "What?"

"That's the center of the brain that controls anger."

"It doesn't matter, the point is, they're still human. No matter how sick and violent they are, they still think, they still feel and they are still human beings. Fred just proved it."

Will suddenly became sick to his stomach at the thought. He had killed a good number of people only the day before, under the impression that they weren't human anymore. They were vicious animals that had to be put down. He didn't want to think that they had a consciousness.

"They aren't human. They're rabid animals." Will looked down at Fred. "And he is no different."

"No, that's not true. Because you've tranquilized him enough to calm his body down, he is able to think and feel again, at least enough to communicate."

"But didn't you hear him say that he hates you? Fred didn't hate you, and this thing does."

Miss Somerset swallowed back the lump in her throat as Will continued.

"He's not Fred anymore. Fred died last night. This thing is just a dog with rabies who learned how to talk."

"Can you even imagine what he must be going through? Your heart's beating so fast your head feels like it's about to explode? You're adrenaline's running through you so hard you can't ever sleep, and the only emotion you can feel is anger? What would you do if you were infected? Would you be an animal?"

"Yes. I would be no different than any other vicious animal, and I would want someone to put me out of my misery."

"And that's exactly how he feels. Miserable. Don't you think they're afraid? Don't you think they're confused?"

Fred vomited blood once again, as if to emphasize her point, and he closed his eyes while gasping for air.

"I bet if you were infected you would be terrified. You wouldn't know what to do but lash out."

Will thought about the baby he left at the Metro. If it had any emotions left, Will was sure the baby was angry, confused and terrified. He wondered if someone killed it, or if the child was still screaming in the dark. He looked down at Fred in deep thought for a moment, then back up to Miss Somerset with sad eyes.

"You should have let me put him out of his misery. This stuff will only slow him down, it won't stop him, there is no cure."

"No. There is no cure, and he will die. But aren't you tired of killing people by now?"

Will thought about this. "What about Carl? He seems to enjoy it completely."

Miss Somerset just stared blankly at Will. "That is what makes us human, our ability to reason. He doesn't have that, so he might as well be infected already. But you do have the ability to reason."

Will turned his head back down to Fred and Miss Somerset finished.

"I saw how you looked after you killed those men in the alley. It made you sick to have to do it. Didn't it?"

Will nodded his head and turned back around to leave the room. Miss Somerset looked down at Fred, who was still gasping for air.

"You were my favorite, Fred."

He just rolled his eyes up to her and glared. "Let… me… out…"

Miss Somerset wanted to cry. "I'm sorry."


	13. Chapter 13: Containing the Virus

Containing the Virus.

"What do you mean, he spoke?" Carl demanded.

"I mean that your friend, Fred, is still Fred."

"But he's infected, he can't speak. They don't talk."

"That's right, they don't talk. That doesn't mean that they can't talk." Miss Somerset corrected.

"And what's the Mick got to say about it?"

Miss Somerset gave him a stern look. "Will thinks he's nothing more than a vicious animal that we tied down."

"Then he's not a stupid as I thought he was."

"Do you have a Bachelors degree in anything yet?"

Carl glared at her. "No. Not yet."

"Well he's working on his Masters degree in paleontology, and has spent the last 5 years trying to do something with his life in that field."

"And how is all of this is going to help us stay alive, and get the fuck out of here?"

Miss Somerset just looked at him.

"See? It's not." Carl said with satisfaction. "All that limey fuck ever worked for, is pointless now. And he's never gonna be able to use it again. It's not going to save him, and there will never be a need to use what he knows. He wasted the past 5 years."

Miss Somerset glared at Carl, but understood his point. If Will was able to stay alive long enough to be admitted into another country, it would be a while before he could ever find a use for all he had studied. This virus had ruined the lives of many people, and not just those who were infected.

She walked away from Carl and sat down on a stool on the other side of the room. She looked back over at Carl, who had a small smirk on his face.

"The fact is your friend, Fred, is still alive in there, and still human. And even though you won't want to believe it, he can still be saved."

Loli slowly walked over to Miss Somerset and inquired on what they were discussing. _"Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?"_

Miss Somerset glanced at Carl, then back to Loli and explained everything that they just discussed. Loli was shocked to hear that Fred, a sick person, was capable of speaking.

Will sat in the room looking straight at Fred. Their eyes stared into the others' and a mutual disrespect was held in the silence. Will didn't want to think that someone who's been infected could have a mind. They weren't human. Will looked at Fred and kept telling himself just that, but anytime Fred would speak it shattered his thoughts. Because Fred _could_ communicate, he was still, in some way, human.

"Quit staring at me or I'll rip your face off!" Fred growled.

Will leaned back against the cabinets on the cold floor. Fred's threats, though real as they were, held no sway to Will. Will had felt himself becoming rather numb since it all began. Shock and terror took over his thoughts when England first went under, now he had killed people and had every intention of killing more to get away. Fred's threats just gave a face to whom he has to kill. Soon Fred and Will were joined by Zach, Carl, Miss Somerset, Roxy and Loli. Roxy and Loli stared in shock and amazement at Fred as they joined Will in sitting on the floor. Miss Somerset, Carl and Zach remained standing.

"Fred? Fred how are you feeling right now?" Miss Somerset asked.

Fred rolled his eyes over to her, but made no sound to acknowledge her question. He looked back down to the ground and began to shake.

"Hey Fred!" Carl said in the silence. "Remember Lindsey, at Spring Break?"

Fred's eyes flashed from underneath his brow and stared directly at Carl.

"I fucked her."

Just then Fred vomited more of his own blood. He tried to get a hold of himself and began breathing in deep raspy breaths. Miss Somerset quickly turned her head and glared at Carl. "I think we can try a much more effective approach, wouldn't you say, Carl?"

Carl looked back over at her. "What? I didn't think I'd ever get to break it to him."

When school was released for Spring Break, earlier in the year, Fred was talking to a girl named Lindsey whom he really wanted to be with. She was always nice to him and always brightened his day. After Spring Break she stopped talking to him. Now Fred knew why, and all he could do is sit there in his own thoughts. If he weren't tied up, Fred would run up to Carl and rip out his throat. He imagined reaching in and pulling out his spine.

"I hate you." He said looking straight at Carl. Carl was unmoved by this.

"What are you feeling right now?" Miss Somerset asked to change the subject.

Fred continued to look at Carl and slowly got to answering her question. "I'm fucking pissed, you stupid whore!"

Carl chuckled aloud and Zach chimed in. "You know Fred, I always thought you were kind of a pussy."

Fred tried to break free of his chains and straps, but they held him down too well.

Miss Somerset turned and shoved Zach. "If you two are just going to antagonize him, then you can just leave."

"I'm not going anywhere." Zach said with a cocky grin. "Why should we give a shit about one of them?"

"Because he's your friend, Zach!"

Zach huffed. "I'm no friend to a retarded zombie."

Miss. Somerset tried to hold back, but she was livid. "Then just get the fuck out of here! If you're not going to be of any help then quit being a problem for everyone!" She turned her head and looked at Carl. "And that goes for you as well! Throughout my class you two have been nothing but a pain in the ass. You never take anything seriously and your attitude about my class and about life in general is nothing but sad and pathetic. The only reason I took you two on this trip is because the decision was with the school, not with me. I can't help that you have enough money to throw away on something you choose to get nothing from! You're both a waste of life and you're a waste of my time!"

Carl and Zach were left with nothing to say.

"You heard her, bitch! Get the fuck out of here!" Fred said in a low growl.

Carl and Zach just glared as they turned to leave the room. Carl looked at Fred before he left. "Go ahead and rot in here, you piece of shit."

Fred watched as Carl turned away and the doors closed behind him. Will leaned in. "Fred? What's different about you? Why does your kind attack only those who are uninfected?"

Fred struggled to break free of his bonds, but it was no use. He couldn't move and he wasn't going anywhere. "Fuck you! Scottish bastard."

Will was not fazed by the derogatory comment. "Is it the way we look? Is it the way we smell?"

Fred glared at Will. Blood was drenched all over his mouth and shirt. "I can smell you."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Fred turned and looked at Roxy. "I can smell her perfume…" He turned back to Will. "…Just as I can smell your sweat."

Miss Somerset was fascinated now. "Is there a difference in the way we smell, from the way the Infected smell?"

Fred thrashed around in his chains and threw up his own blood and bile, once again. Fred wanted to be released. He wanted to kill them all.

"Why do you hate us?" Will asked.

Fred tried to breath as he spoke. "You're different. The way you look. The way you speak. Everything you do pisses me off. Every word you say and everything you've ever done. I fucking hate you all." Fred looked down to the floor again. "And I hate being in these fucking chains!" Fred began thrashing as hard as he could, and so he was beginning to sound hysterical.

Will was intent on watching Fred's reactions when Loli caught the corner of his right eye. He slightly turned his head to her, and he saw that she was staring at him. He smiled to her and she returned it.

"What are we supposed to do with him now?" Will asked Miss Somerset. "He's dangerous to all of us."

"Fred?" Miss Somerset called out, but Fred couldn't hear a word as he thrashed about. "Fred!"

"Fuck you!" He growled as he attempted to break free.

"Fred, what is my name?"

He stopped and slowly raised his head up to her. "You're Miss Somerset."

"And do you remember how you felt before you got infected?"

Fred tried to think back, but it was really hard to remember much.

"Do you remember anything?"

He thought back to Lindsey. He wished he could feel her touch again, but his anger clouded over him when he thought of Carl fucking her. She never cared for him in the first place. Everything she ever did was wrong. Everything anyone did was offensive to Fred.

"I hate you all…" Fred said in a low voice, and hung his head to the floor.

Will looked up at Miss Somerset, who didn't realize a tear was falling down her left cheek. Fred continued. "I just want to die. I won't stop trying to kill any of you…"

Miss Somerset did her best not to cry as Fred's labored breathing filled the silence in the room.

"Help me…" He said in a desperate plea.

"We want to help you, Fred." Miss Somerset assured.

"Then Fucking Kill Me! You Stupid Bitch!" Fred shrieked in absolute rage.

Miss Somerset was stunned and stepped back at Fred's screaming, with more tears falling down her cheek. She could hear the desperation in his demands. She was about to say something, but she couldn't get past the lump in her throat. Instead she turned to look at Will as he stood up and walked over to Fred. Will looked down at the man to his feet, chained up and bound to the floor.

"Before we leave, I promise I'll kill you quickly."

Fred just looked up at him and glared. Bloody drool escaped his mouth and lowered to the puddle of bloody vomit on the floor.

Before Will left, he walked over and grabbed one of the syringes of tranquilizer from the counter, held it in his hands for only a moment, and decided to pocket it. He looked down at Fred chained to the floor, sighed and left the room without even saying a word. Miss Somerset didn't have anything left to say, so she followed Will out and turned the lights off before closing the door. She hated herself at that moment. Someone she cared about was sick, tied down and she just turned the lights off and left him alone. She shivered when Will locked the room up.


	14. Chapter 14: Fred

Fred

Miss Somerset sat in a chair, in the dark. She couldn't help but think about Fred and all he said. Though he was vicious and infected, she took everything he said into account. The Infected weren't just vicious, they were legitimately angry. To them, everything different was offensive and their only rationale was to end what offended them. It must be on a primitive human level, she figured, because they didn't attack any immovable objects, nor had she seen them attack any animals like a cat or a dog.

Looking for some connection to Fred's reasoning, Miss Somerset tried to find a situation in which some little thing could have offended her. She figured it wouldn't be too hard, but to compare with the hatred Fred had, now that he was infected with the virus, she couldn't think of any time in her life when she felt that something so small could be offensive. And then it came to her. Miss Somerset remembered a time when the girl Fred was seeing, Lindsey, gave her a dirty look.

Lindsey never really gave her a dirty look but Miss Somerset thought she had, and vice versa. Since Lindsey was in her class in French 1, the correlation between the two of them was always a shaky one. Lindsey thought Miss Somerset gave her a dirty look and Miss Somerset thought Lindsey gave her one, and Fred ended up approaching her after class and asking if she had anything against Lindsey. Now that Miss Somerset looked back on it, she thought it was a silly thing to get concerned about, but she was curious to know if that's how Fred felt on some level. Because Fred was so angry, could he just be misinterpreting everything anyone did around him as an offense, or could he really not help himself and he was just a rabid animal, like Will said?

And then she focused her thoughts on Fred's sense of smell. He said he could smell Will's sweat and Roxy's perfume, even though she hadn't put on any perfume since before they all locked themselves in the Vet Clinic and Will wasn't sweating that much. Could the virus actually have tapped into the most primitive parts of the human mind and set us back to our basic instincts? Either way, Miss Somerset was glad to be wrapped up in a blanket that smelled like dog. If the Infected could smell someone out, as well as Fred claimed to be able to, then it was probably best that she retained a natural fragrance.

After thinking about Fred, who was chained to the floor only a couple rooms away, the last thing he said before she left still haunted her. Fred told her to kill him if she wanted to help. Will promised he would but Miss Somerset didn't want to see any harm come to Fred. She felt that even though he was infected, he wasn't completely lost and they shouldn't just kill him off if there was still some Fred left.

Miss Somerset remembered back to when things were better, back at school. Fred wasn't her favorite student, but he definitely wasn't the worst. Fred would always stay behind to try to catch up on the assignments and he would always stop to ask how she was doing if he saw her. The more Miss Somerset thought of it, the more she realized she cared about Fred more than she though she did. He was always opening the door for her, he was always so polite and he was always there to see how her day was going. Miss Somerset never knew that she felt so strongly for him. He was still her student and she would not break that boundary, not that it mattered anymore since he was Infected, but the more she thought about Fred, the more she realized how great of a person he was and that everything he did, she took for granted. Miss Somerset wiped the tears from her eyes when she realized that there was no way they could save him.

Fred's face was flat against the floor as he sat alone with his thoughts. He thought about his mother, and he thought about his family. Each thought that raced through his mind tore him up as he desperately searched for one though that brought him some comfort, but there was nothing. Every time a new face would pop through his mind, a new reason to hate them emerged. He even thought about events in his life that made him happy, but in each thought was something to tarnish the moment. Every good thing he ever knew was nothing more than a bad memory.

He remembered liking Will and thinking he was a good person, he remembered how beautiful Miss Somerset looked to him when she smiled, and Fred even remembered how excited he was when he first arrived in Paris. Now all Fred could think about was his hate for everything he had just listed. He hated Will for tying him down and sticking him with tranquilizer, he hated Miss Somerset for not killing him and for bringing him to this god-forsaken country, and he knew that France as a whole would get what it deserved, along with the rest of the world.

Fred knew it was the virus, and he kept trying to tell himself that he doesn't hate anyone, but it was so hard to focus on anything but the hate he felt. Each time he was expected to speak, all Fred could think of was how much of a burden it was, and he wondered how anyone could expect so much. As he laid, chained down in his dark little cell, Fred now had the time to focus on all the little things in his life. When he was a child and got beat up, when a teacher would single him out in class, when his father used to spank him for nothing, and when anything at all would go against how Fred felt and where he wanted it to go, all he did was take it. Now that he had the time, he could reflect on everything that ever went wrong in his life.

Fred was going crazy… He just wanted to die. He didn't think anyone should have to focus on as much hate as he did, but at the same time he wanted everyone to know exactly how he felt. There was no way to describe it in words, each emotion brought with it new memories of seemingly insignificant times in Fred's past where something went against him. He wished everyone could know the torment they helped influence in his life. Closest friends, old girlfriends, family and coworkers were all a factor in what shaped him. Fred wished he could have had a happier life, but there was no turning back now.

And it wasn't the virus that made him feel this way. The virus just amplified the way he felt already. There were so many times Fred wished he could scream, 'Fuck You!' to anyone that pissed him off, but he just held his tongue and went along like it wasn't that big of a deal. No one ever even gave a shit if it bothered him. All his loved ones knew him well enough to know what hurts him. Fred's closest friends knew what set him off, but they continued to each disregard how he felt. The more and more he thought about them, the more he wished he could kill everyone he knew.

Before Fred made it to Paris, he wrote in his journal to each of his friends. He wanted to tell everyone who had ever pissed him off exactly how he felt but figured it would cause too much conflict if others knew what he thought, so he wrote it mainly to himself. The journal was still sitting in his backpack for anyone to read.

And Fred wrote:

Mom and Dad, you've never really been there for me when I needed you to be. When I was in the hospital on a respirator and had to pay $900.00 for the bills, where were you when I needed help? Instead you've always been there for my little brother whenever he would be in a bind or get into trouble. You spent $20,000 on him to go to Boot Camp and plan to send him off to Welding school now, but I got nothing and had to pay out-of-pocket for College, and you want me to reimburse you for all the money you have given me now that I'm out on my own.

Carl, you are a good friend but I have no respect for you. You never stood up for me when I could have really used your support. Your mom has a sour taste in her mouth for me because you let me take the fall for every little thing you ever did wrong, you told me I was too immature to hang out with when we were young and belittled me. After all I've put up with you, throwing fits and getting pissed off for the simplest requests, you'd still shake your head at me if I did something you disapprove of. When I brought Stephanie and Tina over, they weren't brought over for you to fuck, and Lindsey was never attracted to you like you thought. The girls I bring over aren't for my friends to fuck! What the hell is wrong with you?

To all my friends. None of you trusted me when you first met me. You say that I'm your friend, but I get dissed at every turn. Zach, you thought I was going to fucking rape your little sister, but you've molested girls much younger than her on countless occasions.

Stephanie, for coming into my life and accusing me of being a bad friend. I have flipped over backwards for you every chance I get. It's nothing but a bunch of little things that build up with you. You bitch at me and take out all your anger and frustration on me, but you still refer to me as your best friend. You promised you wouldn't fuck Carl, after I had asked you not to for over a year, and when you did, you passed it off as not a big deal. Like all I've been asking of you means nothing. You never listen to a word anyone has to say, everything has to be about you and it seems like you expect everyone's activities to revolve around your schedule. You'll get pissed if anything's done without you being involved, but you have no problem ditching me, your best friend, for another guy you want to fuck!

Lindsey, it gets real tiring to be in a relationship where I'm the only one who wants physical involvement. When I wait for months at a time for an opportunity to be with you again, you become less and less attractive to me as the days go by. Soon it will get to the point when all your excuses and pauses will make me decide to see other people. But I can't break up with you or cheat on you, or even move away from you because I have nowhere to go and no one to understand where I'm coming from. Living with a girl who is essentially my mother, what's the point of being in a relationship anymore? I am constantly worried about how you're feeling, and what I can do to make you feel better. I'm constantly worried that what I do is not enough for you, and when you make those pathetic little sighs at me showing that something is bothering you but you refuse to tell me what it is or what I can do about it, it just gets fucking old and I want to give up.

Holidays: Each Birthday and Christmas is the same. I never expect anything from any of you, because I know if I do, you'll all just let me down. None of you ever get me what I ask for, I practically have to beg to get anything. You all piss and moan if I need some help with money and you bother me to the point of suicide to reimburse you. I just wanted some fucking comics for my birthday and Christmas, but did any of you even attempt at getting me any? I go out of my way to make sure each of you get exactly what you asked for, for your birthdays and Christmas, but I either get nothing in return or something I never wanted to begin with as a consolation gift. Why don't any of you fuckers listen to me?

So on my 23rd birthday this year, what did I get? Nothing. None of you got me shit, and the next day I had to cough up $130 just to keep all of you happy and content. When we all went down to the river, I paid for parking I paid for gas, I paid for beer, I bought cigarettes, I bought snacks, I bought Ice, and when I had the Tube that had a leak in it, did any of you help out the birthday boy by giving him your tube? No! You all were so self absorbed that you concern was more with how your day went than mine!

Fuck all of you. I try and I try, and I get shit on. None of you are real friends, you're just taking up my time until a better life comes my way. None of you are worth it.

The problem was that he did care about his friends. Even when Zach and Carl were the worst friends anyone would ever imagine having and they lacked support, the ability to make moral or rational decisions, and compassion for how anyone felt but themselves, they were still all Fred had. So he thought it was best to just get his feelings out in one way they wouldn't know of so he could keep his sanity and so he didn't have to worry about them accusing him of not letting them know sooner, or accused him of everything he had ever done wrong to them.

But none of it even mattered anymore. Fred was now infected and he remembered everything he had ever had to endure. Maybe it was the horse tranquilizer that made him able to actually _focus_ on his hatred, or maybe the virus just amplified the feelings he already had. No matter what the reason was for the way he felt at that time, it was how he felt and he was now completely willing to kill anyone to express it. Fred didn't care about compassion or reason anymore, and why should he? He knew he was a monster and monsters don't care about anyone but themselves, they are only fueled by their own feelings and desires.

Fred thought about how Carl taunted him, and said that he actually had fucked Lindsey. He thought about how they had both betrayed his trust. All Fred wanted to do now was kill Carl. That was the only thought that gave him comfort. It made him smile.


	15. Chapter 15: Dawn

Dawn.

Zach and Carl were on the roof of the clinic sharing a joint together. They had been on the roof long enough to see that there were still Infected running all over the streets, so the two of them stayed low while they smoked. They both sat down and remained unnoticed to the Infected below. The Infected could smell the smoke and knew that it came from somewhere nearby, but none of them could pinpoint where and continued to frantically search the streets below.

"You think we'll be able to get a car tomorrow?" Zach asked.

Carl knew it was a pressing issue, but he didn't really care too much. He was focused more on Loli. Seeing the way Will looks at her and the way she looked at him made Carl want to fuck her right there. One of the things he loved doing was fucking someone else's girl and seeing if they'd try to fight him or not. Seeing Will dressed from head to toe in ski gear made Carl just want to tip him over. He chuckled at the thought of seeing Will on the ground, unable to get up.

"Carl?"

Carl looked over to Zach. "We're gonna fucking die." Carl said with a chuckle.

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I'm fucking high as it is, don't mess around like that."

Carl smiled and looked to the roof below him. It didn't matter if he died anymore so long as he lived how he felt like living before he went. He just sat back and enjoyed the feeling as the weed engulfed him. Carl looked up at the night sky and saw sunlight beginning to rise over a dead city. Nothing mattered anymore. This was the beginning of the end of the world, why should he give a fuck about anything?

"Maybe not all of us. Maybe just Will and Fred." Carl finished and took another hit.

Will sat up in the couch and threw the blanket off his lap and onto the floor. He tried to sleep that night, but couldn't make it more than a couple of hours. How could he sleep when he was completely aware of everything going on? He picked up his sword and slowly walked to the front window, and peered out through a crack in the blinds. It was early morning and the streets were beginning to brighten. It was almost time to leave, they just had to figure out how. He looked back and forth, trying to get his eyes to focus, and saw no sign of life outside. The streets were empty except for the remains of the Infected that attacked before they locked themselves into the clinic. Now would be as good a time as any.

Will walked over to Miss Somerset as she sat asleep in her chair in the dark, with a blanket covering all but her head. He gently shook her until she began to stir. Her eyes tried to adjust themselves and blinked until she achieved vision. She looked up at him.

"Will?"

Will smiled to her. "Listen, it's time we get out of here. I'm going to look for a car, and I'll take the first one I find on the street. Be ready to run out and get everyone into it when I drive by."

"You're gonna bring a car back here?"

"If I can. I'll just grab the first one I see."

"I thought the plan was we were all going to go together."

"I can't wait anymore, and if more than one person goes, there's a better chance of getting caught."

Loli barely got any sleep either, and was awake to hear Will and Miss Somerset conversing but couldn't understand a word they said. She laid on the floor and pretended to stay asleep as the two of them whispered in the dark.

"Will, there might be some of them out there. Couldn't you wait till it's brighter outside?"

"No, we have to leave as soon as we can. For all we know, Belgium might not admit anyone else. Then we'd be trapped in this country."

"But what about them? What if they find you?"

Will sighed and started walking away. Loli kept her head down as he walked past. She didn't want them to know she was awake.

"They've been running up and down the streets all night. I figure there's no better time than now to get going."

"He's right." A deep voice said, louder than a whisper.

Will and Miss Somerset both turned their heads to see Carl walking down the staircase, from the second floor, with Zach right behind him.

"Let the Mick go off and be a hero. If he doesn't make it then we'll have more room in the car when we find one without him."

Will glared at Carl. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Sure you will." Carl said with a smirk on his face, which could barely be seen with as little light that peered into the clinic.

"Will, at least take someone with you." Miss Somerset pleaded.

"No, fuck him. If he wants to go off on his own, I say let him. There's no reason anyone else should have to die, because of him."

Will slowly made his way to Carl and stood a few inches above his height as he looked down into his eyes. "I don't know what your problem is, or why you keep trying to fuck with me. But know this now. If you give me any reason at all, I swear to god that I will fucking end you. You understand?"

Carl loved when people tried to pick fights. "What are you gonna do? Kill me?"

"You think this is a game?" Will continued. "I'm through playing around. I will completely end who you are if you get in my way. And that's not an idle threat, it is a warning and a promise. The sooner we get a car, the sooner we can all get the fuck out of here."

Loli laid on the floor and was shocked to hear the tone in Will's voice. Apparently Miss Somerset was shaken too, because she just sat and stared at both Will and Carl with her mouth hanging open.

Carl glanced to the side and stepped away from Will. "If that's the case then what are you waiting for? The door's right there."

Will looked at the front door and then back at Carl. "I think I'll go out the back door. He turned back to Miss Somerset and continued. "Be ready when I get back here. We'll have to leave soon."

"And what happens if they start following you?" Zach asked.

Will looked over at him. "Then I'll just have to lead them away, won't I?" He finished and started walking away, leaving everyone behind. Loli nearly cried when she realized he had left and she couldn't say goodbye.


	16. Chapter 16: Looking for an Exit

Looking for an Exit

An hour had passed and the dawn began to get brighter. Will snuck around to the next block and there were still no parked cars. It seemed that a good number of people were able to escape in their vehicles, which was a problem for him. He thought that maybe there would be a few left behind, but there didn't seem to be such luck. He continued to make his way down the street when he noticed a parking garage near to the Horse Tracks. Cautiously looking around to make certain that no one was nearby to notice him, Will quickly ran straight across the street and over to the shade of the opposing buildings.

Will passed by a number of different shops and offices, as he got closer to the garage. He quickened his pace and halted as soon as he heard a noise coming from the alley he had just passed. Will fell back flat against the wall with his sword at the ready and scolded himself for not looking before running past an open alley. He waited for the sound of running, and it came but the steps sounded lighter than he was expecting. He waited for the infected to run past and turn for him, he'd have to be quick. If he was going to stay alive he had to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

The running got closer and a little girl ran out of the alley and into the street in front of him. She hissed and snarled as she passed in front of Will. He was going to strike, but hesitated when he saw how small she was. The girl couldn't have been any older than 4, and her small body was covered in blood. It looked as if she was wearing a dress, but it was so stained and torn that she could have easily been wearing anything else. She continued running down the street and tripped over a cobblestone, landing flat on her face. She thrashed on the ground for a second and found herself again, enough to stand back up. As fast as she got up, so did she continue to run as fast as she could. Will was in the dark of the building's shade and luckily blended in enough so the little girl didn't see him as she ran past. He sighed heavily in relief, almost forgetting that he was holding his breath.

Once he couldn't see or hear the little girl anymore, and he was fairly certain that her running by didn't attract the attention of any other Infected that might be around, he kept on and neared the side entrance of the parking garage. Keeping his sword up at all times, he ventured past the elevators and toward the exit. He tried to keep the sound of his breathing low and took small steps as he made his way through the dark garage. He could only see the light of the car entrance and did all he could to remain calm and quiet. Once he could see where he was going, and everything around him, Will noticed a couple of parked cars that were parked closer to the light.

He looked around as he hastened his pace to the vehicles. He ran up to the car closest to where he was and tried to open the driver's side door, but it was locked. Across the row and on the other side, there was a car with the driver's side facing the morning sunlight. Will noticed that there was a man lying in front of the door in a dried puddle of blood. He slowly made his way to the car and looked down at the dead man as he approached. The man's eyes were half opened, blood was spattered across his face and his head looked sickeningly like it had nearly been twisted off. Seeing the shape of the dead man's neck made Will cringe. He looked at the door in front of the body and saw a set of keys hanging out of the door's keyhole. His legs shook as he tried to understand his luck. He got a warm tingling feeling creeping up his neck as he got in front of the door.

Will reached out and turned the keys, which unlocked the car. He smiled to himself as he realized that he had just received the keys to a car without any effort, which was fortunate since he had no idea how to hotwire. Quickly he got into the driver's seat and prepared himself to drive away. As he sat down, he looked back at the dead man that laid on the ground next to the car.

"Why would you just have the keys just sticking out of the door like that?" Will whispered to the man.

Will had a flash of what may have happened. He saw the man running for his life with a few of the Infected right on his tail. The man saw his car and was getting closer to it. All he had to do was get in and drive away, and all would be ok. But the man didn't get into the car and he didn't get away. Will saw that this dead man had every intention of escaping, and nearly did, but was sadly thwarted by an Infected who was just too close. So as the man got to the car door and stuck the key into the hole, it was at that moment when they caught up to him and killed him. Will had seen how aggressive they could be and that infection was not the only hazard they possessed. He imagined that the owner of this car was beaten down by the Infected, didn't have any chance of escape and was killed when one of them twisted his head and broke his neck.

Will looked into the passenger seat and saw a couple of envelopes, to a Mr. Oliver Ackland. He turned his head to the dead man and smiled sadly.

"Thank you Oliver." Will closed the door and got the car started with no problems. A smirk crossed his face and he began backing up to leave. When he started to change gears to move forward, he looked into the rear view mirror and saw movement behind the car. Suddenly, just as he figured out what it was, the loud banging of someone jumping onto the trunk of the car made Will jump in his seat. He quickly changed gears and took off, making the Infected, who was standing on the trunk, fall backwards onto his head.

Will drove as fast as he could and jumped again as another Infected banged at the door window to his left. He sped past, turned out of the garage and into the morning light. When he looked into the rear view mirror again, he saw three Infected running out of the garage and into the street behind him. He turned a corner again and cursed at what little space there was to drive in. Something caught the left corner of his eye and he saw four more Infected running from the side of a building, directly towards his car. He swerved when he noticed they were there and sped up ahead of them. Looking back in the mirror he saw that there were more following him than he had seen. In the mirror there were more than seven; he wasn't able to count how many there were exactly, but he knew there were way too many to bring the car to the vet.

Will decided that the streets were too narrow to stop for even a moment, with the Infected close behind. He would have to lead them away and lose them. Will knew it would be a while before he'd get a chance to come back, and a dark thought crossed his mind. He could leave them all behind and get to Belgium on his own. He shook that idea out of his head and tried to focus on driving. He turned another corner and the little girl that had passed by him earlier ran right in front of the car. Unable to swerve away in time, Will ran right over her and felt the clanking of her body as it rolled under the tires and bottom of the car. He looked back into the mirror to see her crumpled form still rolling as he left her behind, and more Infected were behind him.

Will shook as he tried to pay attention to the road in front of him and tears began to roll down his cheek when all he could see was the little girl being killed by the front of his car. He drove out into wider roads and soon Will was able to lure the Infected toward the opposite direction of the Veterinary Clinic. He hoped he'd be able to shake them off for good before he turned back. He looked back to see over a dozen Infected screaming and thrashing their arms at him as they ran and followed. They clawed through the air, bled, hissed and snarled at their own anger to Will driving away. It made him think about Fred. Though he was infected, there was still some human in him, and it just took him to calm down for anyone to see it. He wondered how human everyone behind him was and what was left of it.

Looking into the mirror, he noticed that he was gaining distance from the Infected. Not that he wanted the Infected to be anywhere near him, but he was trying to lure them away from the vet. He gently applied his breaks and allowed them to catch up a bit, giving them hope that they could still catch him. Soon the number of the diseased doubled and he had no trouble with them staying behind him, because at every turn there would be more waiting around the corner. They would chase him and the others would follow, knowing that those ahead knew where Will was and were on his tail. It was getting close to the right time to lose them, turn around and hide the car.


	17. Chapter 17: Anxious

Anxious

Carl was getting anxious. "You know he left us, right? He ran out and found a car, now he's off to Belgium."

"Carl!" Miss Somerset scolded. "He'll be back soon."

"No, he either took off or he's infected. Did you see how many of them just got up and took off down the street? There were close to 50 of those fuckers outside and they all ran his direction. Now we need to leave and take our advantage."

Loli looked at Carl, puzzlingly. _"__ Qu'est-ce que vous dites ?__"_

Carl looked away for a second then resumed his eye contact with her. He repeated everything in French so she could understand. _"__ Soit Will nous a abandonnés, soit il est infecté. Dans les deux cas on doit partir tant qu'il n'y a personne dehors.__"_

_" __Je ne veux pas__ partir sans lui !__"_ She replied and looked away.

Sympathetically, Carl came over to Loli and put an arm around her shoulders. _"__ Il ne reviendra pas ! Il faut qu'on parte tout de suite !__"_

Miss Somerset looked up at Carl. "We're not going anywhere."

Carl looked back at her and lightly glared in her direction.

Miss Somerset continued. "We're going to wait here until Will comes back with a car. If he's not back by tonight then we'll leave in the morning, but until then, we are not abandoning him."

_" Venez voir ça, vite !"_ Roxanna yelled from the entrance across the lobby. Miss Somerset, Carl, Loli and Zach all got up and walked to where Roxanna stood. She pointed up to the top of one of the buildings across the street. Everyone took their places at a window and looked up to where she was pointing and they each saw a man standing at the edge of the building.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Zach asked.

_" Il doit y avoir d'autres survivants."_ Roxanna exclaimed.

"What'd she say?" Zach asked.

"She said there must be more survivors." Miss Somerset repeated in English.

They all watched as the man stood at the edge of the building and looked down to the ground below. Without any warning at all, the man held his arms out, looked up at the sky and stepped over the edge. Everyone at the clinic watched in shock as the man fell half the length of the building and was stopped suddenly by a rope around his neck. The rope became taut and the man's body snapped to a halt, smacking him into the side of the building's stonewall.

Roxanna turned and tried to catch her breath at what she just witnessed. Carl and Zach could only stare as the man swung, lifeless, back and forth against the bricked surface of the wall. They covered up the cracks in the blinds they were each looking through and solemnly backed away. Roxanna was still shaken by what she had witnessed that she began to hyperventilate and fell to the floor. Miss Somerset ran to help her up and Roxy vomited as soon as Miss Somerset's hand touched her shoulder.

Loli was shaken too and turned to run upstairs with Carl casually following her up. She passed all the equipment and turned into the first room she could find. She ran towards a window and pressed her forehead against it, sobbing out her fear and frustration. She knew the world had gone under. Everything she had ever known was going to end, and whether she lasted another night, or another week, she knew she was going to die soon. She couldn't stop thinking about Marcel and Victoire. They were perfectly fine one minute and the next they were diseased, and that came out of nowhere. She thought of Fred and how somehow he got sick too for absolutely no reason. Why was this all happening. She thought about Will and how she felt about him. He had saved her and brought her here. Even though she had grown to hate the clinic in only a matter of one night, she knew it was all he could do to keep them both alive, and now he was gone. She knew there wasn't a good chance he would be coming back. There was only one way to escape and the dead man hanging across the street proved that.

_" Vous allez bien ?__"_She heard a voice ask from behind. No she wasn't alright, in fact she was far from it. All Loli wanted was for everything to be as it was, when her biggest concern was to keep her grade averages up. She wanted to see her family again, she wanted to feel safe; Loli wanted Will to come back, he made her feel safe.

_" Est-ce qu'il est revenu ?__"_ She asked.

Carl shook his head and closed the door behind him as he approached her. "Like I said, he's not coming back."

Loli didn't understand him, and Carl was making her feel uneasy, as he got closer. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders and held her at arm's length. Though he was grasping her gently, his hold was strong enough that she would have to struggle to break free.

_" Ca va aller. Tout ira bien.__"_ Carl assured her, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. With his lips against her, she couldn't help to think how inappropriate this felt. She wanted to feel safe and comfortable, this was not helping. When Carl pulled back from her face, his eyes locked with hers and she stared up at him nervously. Loli knew she had to tell him to stop before it went any further. She had seen the way he had been staring at her from the first night she arrived with Will. She didn't need this right now.

_"__Non."_ She said as nicely as possible. The last thing she wanted was for this to become an issue.

Carl slowly pulled her closer to him and pressed her waist against his own. _"Oui."_ He said in a low, determined voice.

Loli's breathing increased as she tried to back away from him, but Carl's grasp got tighter.


	18. Chapter 18: Time to Leave

Time to Leave

Will got out of the car and looked around to make sure nobody was nearby. He was only a block away from the Veterinary Clinic, so all they had to do was come out and leave. All of them. They'd leave, hit the main roads and race as fast as they could to Belgium, and everything would be done. It was almost over. He crept across the street and caught site of something that disturbed him. A man was hanging from the building he had just run past. After all that's happened, Will was more than ready to leave all of France behind him.

He finally got to the clinic and knocked on the front door.

"Carl! Miss Somerset, it's me. Let me in." Will said as loud as he thought would not attract attention from the Infected. The door rattled and Zach opened it up for him.

"Hurry up, get in!"

Will ran past and Zach shut the door behind him. Miss Somerset greeted Will as he came in. "Any luck?"

"Yeah. I got the car, it's just parked a block away from here on the other side of the street."

"Why didn't you just bring it here?" Zach asked.

"I didn't know how long it would take to get everyone together. If I brought the car around, there may be dozens of Infected running out to greet us, just because we got their attention." He said almost scolding Zach.

Will looked around and saw there was only Roxy, Zach and Miss Somerset in the room. "Where's Loli and Carl?"

A smirk creaked in the corner of Zach's mouth. "They both went upstairs. We might have to wait a few minutes before we leave."

Will didn't want to be jealous, but they did have to go. Without a word he quickly walked to the stairway and hurried up to the second floor. As he approached the hallway, he heard muffled moaning and struggling coming from the first room on his right. His heart sank until he heard what sounded like crying.

Carefully, Will turned the handle and opened the door and saw Carl throwing Loli to the table in the center of the room. He started pulling her pants down with one hand while he had the other hand twisting her arm back behind her, wrenching it back and leaving her helpless. Without any hesitation, Will pulled out the Mag-light hanging from his side and ran up to Carl, bashing it into the top of his skull. Without saying a word, Carl crumpled to the floor.

Loli turned and saw the look of hate Will had in his eyes at Carl. He glanced up at her for only a second and his look of rage did not change. Soon the doorway was filled with Roxy and Miss Somerset, standing in to see what had happened.

"What's going on here?" Miss Somerset asked.

"I dunno, ask Loli here." Will said as he picked up Carl's arm and began dragging him away.

_" Il a essayé de me violer !__"_Loli explained. _"Will est arrivé et il a assommé Carl pour me sauver !"_

Miss Somerset looked down as Will pulled Carl towards the doorway and the two women backed away to let him through. Loli pulled her pants back above her waist. Will dragged Carl toward the steps and threw him down, letting Carl tumble to the first floor. He landed with a groan.

Zach stood at the base of the stairs, awestruck. "What the fuck?"

"Your best friend just tried to rape Loli. Fuck with me and I'll end you too!"

"Well we need to get the hell out of here. Where are the keys to the car?"

"In my pocket." Will explained as he continued to drag Carl deeper into the bowels of the clinic. He opened up door after door and ended opening the cell they kept Fred in. Fred snarled as they entered and watched as Will dragged a limp Carl and dropped him right in front of his face.

"Here you go, Fred. I brought you a little treat."

"Fuck you!" Fred screamed as loud as he could. Will chuckled a little bit.

"Carl here just tried to rape that little French girl, Loli. If you want to kill someone, kill someone who deserves it."

Fred's heart began beating faster as he looked down at Carl laying helpless in front of him. Will turned and walked away closing and locking the doors as he left, leaving Carl alone in the room with Fred. Fred started thrashing around in a vain attempt to get out. Doing everything he could to loosen the straps and chains that held him to the floor.

"Can I have the keys?" Zach asked.

"What? No!" Will exclaimed.

"And who put you in charge? Why do you get to hold onto them?"

Miss Somerset approached Will with Roxy right next to her. "Will, what the hell are you thinking? Leaving Carl in there with Fred?"

"Carl is no longer anyone's problem."

"He's a human being!"

"Would you rather he fuck Loli!"

Miss Somerset shut her mouth and glared at Will with tears welling up in her eyes. Will then turned to Zach and tossed him a set of keys. "You want to hold the keys, that's fine, but we're leaving now."

Will marched past the three of them and went toward the staircase to get Loli. She apparently had not come down. He slowly walked up the stairs and into the hallway, turned right to the door that was now partially open. Will opened it all the way and saw Loli sitting on the floor, hugging her legs close to her chest. He slowly walked toward her and saw the clean streaks of tears running down her dirty face. Will knelt down to Loli and positioned his face in front of hers. She just stared out blankly at nothing, to the room she was in.

"We have to go, now." Will said with a very sympathetic tone.

Loli continued to stare at nothing and Will placed his hand on her knee. She jumped at his touch and looked into his eyes.

"We have to go." Will repeated. Loli stared into his eyes and began crying. Soon her cries turned into racking sobs and she wrapped her arms around Will's neck. Will didn't argue and held her close to him as she collapsed into his embrace.

Zach looked down at the set of keys in his hand, while Miss Somerset and Roxy both looked up the stairwell, waiting for Will and Loli to come down. Fred had been infected, Carl was beaten down, why should he have to wait for anyone? Zach had the keys and he knew where the car was. He looked up and started walking for the doors.

Miss Somerset looked up and noticed Zach leaving. "Where are you going?" She asked.

Zach had no intention of stopping or explaining himself. It was time to leave and it was time to leave now. He pushed the doors open and ran towards where Will told him the car would be.

"Will! WILL!" Miss Somerset screamed up the stairs. "Zach just left us!"

Zach ran as fast as he could toward the block Will mentioned, and as he said, the car sat in the alley just waiting for him.

"Will, Zach just left us behind." Will looked up from Loli and over to Miss Somerset standing by the doorway behind him. He smiled to her. "I don't think he'll get very far."

Will reached into his right pocket, pulled out a set of keys and tossed them over to Miss Somerset. She dropped them to the floor as they hit her hands, but she quickly recovered them.

"I thought you'd already given these to him?"

"No, I gave him my own personal keys, not the keys to the car."

Zach got to the car and smiled. He was going to get away. Fuck Miss Somerset, fuck Will and fuck those French sluts. He was going to live and he didn't have to take anyone with him. After the past few days, Zach didn't want to be around people ever again. He flipped through the keys and heard a noise coming from down the street. His head turned to the sound.

Miss Somerset and Roxy left Will and Loli alone in the room. They stared into each other's eyes and Loli had stopped crying. She smiled at him and he to her.

Will thought back to what Miss Somerset told him. _"__Je t'aime bien.__"_

Loli smiled and looked away from his gaze. _"I..like you…_ _Moi __aussi__."_

Will smiled and stood up, holding his hand out for her. "We need to go."

Loli looked up at him, took his hand and he helped her to stand up.

Zach looked and saw that an Infected had spotted him. He fumbled to get the only car key to fit, but it refused to go in. Zach tried to open the car door anyway but it was locked. Soon there weren't just a few Infected running his way, there were loads. Near to fifty Infected were scrambling down the streets directly at Zach, and the car door refused to open. Zach dropped the keys and took off back towards the clinic, leaving the car exactly where Will left it.

Will and Loli were holding each other when they heard the sound of distant screaming. They both turned their heads and saw Zach run out of the alleyway and into the street. Will and Loli, both holding hands, left the room and hurried downstairs. Miss Somerset and Roxy were waiting for them at the base. Will blew past them and up to the front entrance. Soon he saw Zach running straight for the clinic with dozens of Infected on his tail. He was leading the Infected straight for them

"RUN!" Will screamed. They all turned around and ran towards the back exit. Will put his ski mask and goggles on as they made their way out to the side of the building.

"You all have to hide. Wait until they're all out of site and make your way to the car, it's just in the alley across the street and down about a block that way." Will emphasized by pointing in the right direction.

Zach ran into the clinic and turned to run up the stairs. The Infected followed him into the building and scrambled to get at him. They all tripped over one another as they followed him up and he eluded them only long enough to get a head start into the hallway. More Infected made their way into the Clinic and began tearing through room after room looking for anyone who was different.

"What about you?" Miss Somerset asked.

"I'll find another car and meet back up with you in Belgium! Now Go! I'll make sure they don't follow you! Go!" Will demanded.

Miss Somerset held both Loli and Roxy's hands and they all started to run away. Loli looked back as they ran and reached the end of the alley. Will was faced to the building's side entrance but he was looking at her. There seemed to be a moment when time slowed down and all that was left was Will and Loli staring at one another. That moment was cut short when the Infected seemed to pour out of the side exit and straight at Will. Loli jumped as Will turned his head and began hacking down at each of the sick people with his sword. Miss Somerset pulled her around the corner to get to the other street so they wouldn't be seen.

Fred was thrashing as hard as he could and soon Carl began to stir. Seeing Carl regain consciousness made Fred more determined to kill him. He thrashed and kicked as hard as he possibly could and soon heard a dull snapping noise coming from his hip. He looked down and saw that one of the leather straps had come loose. His eyes grew wide and he started to kick and thrash even more. Soon more snapping noises could be heard and Fred could feel he was beginning to shake free.

Carl rolled over and flinched when he looked up to see Fred staring at him from his chains. Carl tried as best as he could to stand, but that proved to require more effort than he was able to give. Carl's head was killing him and standing straight was a near impossible task, so he reached out to the nearest counter for support and backed away from Fred. He turned to look out the window of the only doors to the room.

"Hello? Will, get me the fuck out of here, right fucking now!" There was no response. Carl heard nothing but the sounds of Fred struggling to get free of his chains.

"Will! Miss Somerset! Roxy! _Laissez-moi sortir bande de salopes !__"_ Carl screamed out in anger. Suddenly an Infected smacked against the window of the door he was closest to, and was determined to get at him. Shocked, Carl slowly backed away. As Carl began to back away from the door, Fred broke free of his chains and ran straight for him. He moved so fast that Carl had no time to react at all. Fred grabbed Carl's hair, by where he had been hit over the head, and slung him across the room into the medical supplies. In a daze, Carl tried his best to get up and crawl away. Fred just walked over to him and began beating Carl senseless.

Zach locked the door behind him and made his way for the window. He opened it up, looked down and saw Will swinging his sword at every Infected that ran at him. Using this moment as an advantage, Zach crawled out of the window and lowered himself onto the fire escape. Soon some of the Infected paid no attention to Will and noticed only Zach as he made his way outside. They each ran and huddled together below him. Soon the door he had locked behind himself, before getting onto the fire escape, was thrown open and dozens of Infected filed into the room and scrambled towards the window. Zach could only go up and hurried that way as fast as he could. The Infected poured out of the window and followed him up. Soon Zach was on the roof. He had nowhere to go but down and each of the Infected that followed him out, eventually made their way to the roof with him.

Zach ran as fast as he could to the other end of the building. They were only a few feet from him now. He kept running and saw the man hanging from the building across the street. There was only one way to escape. Zach knew the Infected were less than a few feet behind him, and they would follow his every step. He had no choice. Zach had no more room to run so he leapt off the building with three of the Infected following his example. It was only a two-story building but it seemed much higher to Zach as he fell. He landed with a crunch, followed by the plopping sounds of the infected hitting the ground beside him. He was still alive and still conscious but both of his legs were shattered and he couldn't move.

Zach jumped as he heard hissing coming from beside him. Two out of the three Infected were still alive, but under the same predicament as he, the other had landed on his head and died on impact. The two that were left clawed at Zach as he attempted to crawl away. Zach cried and screamed for help, but his help came only in the form of more Infected who ran down the street to get him. Zach was fucked as the Infected caught up to him and beat him to death.

Miss Somerset cringed as she watched Zach meet his end. She pushed Roxy and Loli back against the wall, urging them to move on, away from the clinic. They carefully made their way down a street and reemerged onto the street Will said he left the car. They slowly made their way down the block until they found the car sitting in the alleyway. That car was now the most beautiful thing to all three of those women.

Will continued hacking at each of the Infected that made its way out at him. They only came out a few at a time, which made it easy for him to kill each one who ran at him, but he was getting winded and they just kept coming. Soon he saw, to his right, another group of Infected running down the alley straight for him. He stopped fighting and ran for the front street with his enemies right on his tail. He backed against a brick wall and faced the Infected head on. They each came at him and he made sure they never got any closer than sword's length.

The sound of tires squealing was heard and Will turned his head to look. He saw the car pull out of where he had parked it and drive away from where he was. He knew they'd be safe. Will looked back at the Infected as they charged in at him, and continued to swing.

Loli sat in the back seat of the car and looked out the rear window at Will fighting in the street. She hoped he'd make it to Belgium. Watching Will cut down everyone that ran at him, she knew he could take care of himself. Miss Somerset continued to drive away and soon turned a corner. Will was now out of Loli's view.

Carl was now a bloody mess. He tried as best as he could to crawl away but it was no use. Fred was keeping him down. Carl looked over and saw his gun on the floor by the locked doors. He knew he'd be ok if he could just get to it. Fred had other intentions. He saw what Carl was trying to crawl towards, kicked Carl repeatedly in the side and pushed him over onto his back. Fred pounced onto Carl's chest and chomped down on Carl's Adams-apple, ripping it out and creating a hole in Carl's neck. Carl could feel the infection spreading into his body, it was quick, but none of that mattered if he was dead. Fred reached into the fresh hole he bit into Carl's neck and pulled out what he could grab.

Carl tried to gasp but blood just frothed out of his nose and mouth. He was infected now, but he would soon be dead. There was no way to take a breath, no way to scream. All Carl could do was bleed. Fred finished Carl off by grabbing his head and pounding it over and over into the concrete floor. Carl's lifeless body then lay in a pool of its own blood and Fred stood up. He could hear more Infected coming from outside the doors and he wasn't finished killing.

Fred ran at the doors and kicked them open. With the doors opened wide, Fred was now able to see clearly in the dark building. There were Infected everywhere and they each noticed him. Though he was infected as well, there was something different about him that the others noticed. Infected or not, Fred didn't care who he killed. They all ran at him and he charged into them, tearing out throats, ripping off ears and biting anyone he could. Each of the Infected treated him with the same reaction, biting and clawing, but he was already infected with the disease… There was nothing worse that could happen to him. Fred felt no pain, no remorse and nothing at all but pure hatred and rage. Killing was the only thing that would satisfy him.

Will slashed his sword into the face of a young woman and the neck of an older man. The Infected came after him relentlessly and Will did all he could to keep them at bay. One of them got passed his sword and tackled him to the ground. Will took out the knife he found, from his back pocket, and stabbed it into the throat of his attacker. He pushed the man off and another grabbed him by the head and bit into his neck. Because of the ski mask, it didn't penetrate the skin but it did hurt like hell. Will tried to stand up and the Infected that was biting him pulled his mask and goggles off. This gave Will the leverage he needed to get back up. He stood and, in one clean motion, swung his sword at the one who pulled off his mask and turned just in time to meet a new attacker that had advanced on him.

In the clinic, an Infected sank his teeth into Fred's shoulder while another bit his legs. Fred pried his fingers into the mouth of the man biting his shoulder, pushed his face away and grabbed a firm hold on the man's jaw. Fred used all the strength he could gather and ripped the lower jaw off of the man's face, tearing out his throat in the process. Fred then looked down at who was biting his legs and saw a little boy tearing at his pants. Fred kicked the boy in the face and knocked him to the ground, he came over a slammed his foot down onto the boy's head, snapping his neck. Convinced that the boy would no longer be a problem, Fred moved onto his next victim.

Loli stared out the window as the car passed buildings and shops. Soon they were able to make it out of the city and into the country. Loli hardly found any beauty in the scenery that she passed by. She, Roxy and Miss Somerset were each silent through the duration of the car ride. They were out of danger but none of them could find any comfort in that. Loli continued to stare off and think of Will. She hoped he was able to get away.


	19. Chapter 19: An End in Sight

An End in Sight…

The number of Infected decreased and soon Will had no trouble killing off the last few that came after him. Once he did, he looked all around at the seemingly endless amount of bodies that littered the street. There must have been at least 50 people lying dead and dismembered all around him. Now that it was over, for the moment, Will could feel the ache of his muscles in each arm. Will walked away from the heap of dead Infected, sighed in relief and licked his chapped lips, deeply breathing in another breath of fresh air. The air smelled of blood and he could almost taste it.

Soon he felt something that alarmed him. Like he was going to be sick. In a panic he realized that he unintentionally licked his lips, which must have held a drop of infected blood. Alarm rang through his mind and he began to convulse and drop to the ground.

Loli watched the trees as they passed by her. She thought of the look in Will's eyes as he told her he liked her. That soft look she would always receive from him, from the moment he found her. She knew he would be alright and she knew she'd see those eyes again.

Will quickly reached into his pocket for the extra syringe of tranquilizer. He knew that he was infected and soon he'd be just like everyone else. He refused to let that happen and struggled to maintain his own rational thought, but he found his thoughts were quickly slipping away. His fingers quickly fumbled around as he tried to feel for the syringe and soon it was within his grasp. He pulled it out and didn't hesitate to stab it into his veins. The horse tranquilizer burned as it made its way into his system. Will grunted in agony. Will was consciously aware of everything that was happening to him, his insides felt like they were melting, he struggled so hard that the blood vessels in his eyes began to burst and soon he was vomiting his own blood. In a fit to maintain himself, he bit on his forearm and ended up biting so hard that his teeth tore through the flesh and a large chunk of skin was ripped off. He was now in a panic. "I am not an animal…" he whispered to himself in a raspy voice and burst into tears.

Loli smiled and reached over to Roxy, who was sitting in the passenger seat. She grabbed her hand and squeezed it. _"Tout ira bien, allez."_ She said encouragingly. Roxy looked up and smiled back in return, with a tear falling down her face. Miss Somerset looked back at Loli and smiled too.

"I hope it will." She said to herself. All that mattered to her now was getting to Belgium.

Will gasped in pain and noticed his sword. He reached over for it and grabbed it by the handle. All he could think was that he didn't want to be like this. He couldn't be infected. Will turned the point of the sword towards his chest and held it by the blade. He looked up at the sky and screamed out as he plunged the tip into the center of his chest. He pulled the sword deeper, gasping out in his torture at doing so, and grabbed the handle at the end. Will pulled as hard as he could and the point of the sword emerged from his back. He could feel his adrenaline beginning to pump through him now, and as his final act, he twisted the sword until it felt like his heart had popped.

Suddenly it didn't hurt anymore. Will couldn't feel anything. The world slowly got darker and he crumpled to the ground, convulsing and coughing up blood until his body just stopped. Soon there was no movement from Will and his red eyes became hollow as one last tear made its way out onto the bridge of his nose and fell to the street. The last thing he could think of was Loli.

Soon the street was quiet again and Will was just one more dead body to add to the endless heap. The air was hollow and the bodies littered a path into the veterinary clinic, past the lobby and through all the rooms. In each room there was at least one diseased body lying on the floor just waiting to rot, and Fred was the cause of that. There was no fighting who he was. He knew he was no better than anyone he had just killed. No matter how much he might want to change, there was only one escape. He sat on an examining table staring out the window at the sunlight that made its way in. Fred saw the clouds begin to cover it and thought of the disease that now covered him.

Without saying a word, Fred made the decision. One less Infected person in the world. He held Carl's gun in his hand and stared at it intently, then without any further thought or hesitation, Fred stuck it in his mouth and chipped his teeth with as hard as he bit on the barrel. He pulled the trigger and it was over.

"Look!" Miss Somerset said loudly. It had been a while since they left that nightmare, but a few miles away there seemed to be hope. Loli, Roxy and Miss Somerset stared off and saw what looked like tanks surrounding the Belgian border.

A man at his post screamed down that there were survivors approaching. Soon dozens of soldiers, guns at the ready, marched in line and awaited the front gates. They opened up and awaited the arrival of these new survivors. After a few minutes went by, Loli, Miss Somerset and Roxy made it through the gates and were herded into a compound. Each of the women were greeted by friendly soldiers who promised everything would be ok. They would each live on.

The end.


End file.
